In the End
by holeyearmuffins
Summary: To 'kill' is easy for Mikan. But to avoid being 'killed' is as easy as pretending to be obsessed with Hyuuga Natsume- annoying.
1. Chapter I

Disclaimer: I will say this once, and once only. I DO NOT OWN GAKUEN ALICE OR THE CHARACTERS, PLOT, ETC. And the game is based on the game in Prep, it is not mine, not will it _ever_ be mine.

_Chapter I_

Her jagged panting ripped through the crisp night air; creating wisps of fog in the darkness. Her slender fingers reached out to the foreboding gate, desperately seizing one iron bar into each hand. Streaks of hot tears gushed out of her vehement, gray eyes, as she bitterly vowed to never get close to anyone ever again.

Being emotionally attached to any being would always be her weakness.

It would always end with her heart being mutilated beyond belief, making the severe gashes others have look like mere abrasions, and unpleasant emotions from both parties. Nuisances she cannot afford to have, especially not after she gave her consent to attend the legendary boarding school, Alice Academy. She took one final breath to steady the multitude of emotions which threatened her common sense, as she stood back from the gate, resolute.

Despite the engulfing pitch darkness, she was able to look past the plethora of bare trees, and caught a glimpse of the building which housed her future. She scanned her surroundings, looking for another student, knowing full well that it was midnight.

But a miniscule voice whispered words full of doubt to her, and she was instantly wary.

She arrived in the middle of the week which allowed students to move into their dorms, and let the first years get acquainted to the campus. There should be someone wandering around after a late night party. Without much thought, she twisted her honey brown hair into a bun, feeling the familiar sensation of adrenaline charging through her body. It was then when she realized that the gate was ominously unlocked, and cautiously pushed it open; wincing at the tiny croak the hinges made. She stepped forward, and stood in the dusty clearing before the forest. The sound of a twig snapping rang out through the still air, alerting her of an intruder. She muttered a low curse and quickly whipped around, fingering the dagger hidden in the sleeve of her black sweater. She mentally analyzed the intruder; the person is either clumsy, or is using the twig as a distraction. She ruled out the former choice and grimly realized that the intruder is an extremely skilled Alice. He, or she, managed to get this close, without her realizing it, and this was a hard feat. She was the top student at her old school, excelling as an Alice, and managed to get an invitation from this academy.

She refused to get killed after all the hard work and sacrifices she made to get here.

Making a quick decision, she sprinted out of the open to a large maple tree, successfully concealing herself. She lithely darted behind some trees while activating her Alice, until she saw her intruder. Silently smirking, she could just make out her intruder's body; it was a male. She saw his head cocked to the side in confusion as he was looking around in his crouched position. Wanting to move within striking distance, she began to move again, until she was body slammed by a dark figure.

She smiled dryly to herself as she sunk into oblivion, thinking that fate was a bitch.

There was a light glowing on her shut eyelids, low voices, and she had a splitting headache. Her senses instantly alert, she opened her eyes by a millimeter and scrutinized her surroundings, locating the door a few yards to her left. She saw two heads looming over her body, realizing that they took her dagger, and that she felt fine. In fact, her headache was beginning to fade, coming to the conclusion that the light must be a healing alice. She checked her breathing, noticing that it was beginning to accelerate, and attempted to keep it under control. She also noticed that they didn't bother with tying her up, she mentally sighed with relief. Settling on an escape plan, she listened to the grumbling voices, patiently waiting for the right time to escape.

"Why did you bring her here, Koko? You don't even know her. You said that we were only going to prank the poor girl, not abduct her." A low voice accused. She concluded that they weren't the type of people who dealt with anyone dangerous, but she could never be too sure.

"Because she's interesting! Didn't you notice that your alice can't work on her? She's the first person I have met who's mind I can't read. Don't tell me that she didn't catch your attention, Kitsuneme. And we didn't abduct her, we brought her to our place so that she can get better. I mean, she did get some pretty nasty bruises because of me. Also, she's really hot. Maybe I can convince her to become my girlfriend..." Right when he was about to continue, she bolted out of her place on the bed and ran for the door, but it opened to reveal a tall, lean male with crimson eyes. Comprehending his friends' shocked faces, and her determined one, he swiftly grabbed her right wrist. She twisted her wrist out of his suffocating grip, but he maneuvered her arm into an arm lock. He pushed her into the room, shutting the door with his foot, and was promptly swept off his feet when he loosened his grip. He broke his fall gracefully, standing up again, despite her prompt retaliation. The two of them glared at each other, but it was broken by flabbergasted applause. They looked away from another, and as inconspicuously as possible, the girl rubbed her tender wrist gently.

"Who is she? Get her out of my sight right now, or I will torture you two painfully and slowly." He spat out venomously. The two looked at each other and simultaneously blurted out their eventful encounter, while she settled down onto the bed she was once laying down on. The two healers left the room silently, acknowledging the crimson eyed boy along the way.

"Well, the most I got to read from her mind before she blocked me was that she's very good at analyzing situations, she was the top student at her old school, and that she had a dagger up her sleeve." Koko told him. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Someone gave it to me for protection." It was the truth, except that someone was herself. The two teens continued on with their story.

"And then after I tried to use my alice to levitate her, she disappeared behind some trees, so I didn't know what to do. My alice just wouldn't work on her, Natsume it was really weird. And so then I waited for Koko to send me a message telling me where she is, but all I got was an, 'uh oh...'" Kitsuneme exaggerated, emphasizing his poor imitation of his friend. Koko shot Kitsuneme a glare.

"Well, at least I had enough sense to tackle her to the ground, and not panic like a certain douche bag I know." He retorted, running a tanned hand through his dirty blond hair. Kitsuneme opened his mouth with a comeback ready, when the girl bravely interrupted.

"Um... Can you please tell me if I'm inside Alice Academy? And who are you guys? All I remember was running towards the academy because I was scared of the dark." She decided to employ 'the sweet and naive girl' card to distract them from finding out her alice. She still didn't know their true intentions, and she felt threatened by the boy she just sparred with. He was probably more skilled than she, and could kill her in an instant if she did anything suspicious, so she wanted the element of surprise if they decided to gang up on her. Instead of showing her calculating face that was dieing to come out, she opted for a timid smile.

"You're inside the academy in the dorm area. I'm guessing you just arrived here, since you don't know us. Or you live under a rock, but I highly doubt that's possible for an attractive woman like you." Koko said suavely, mussing his hair up again. She attempted to not roll her eyes. He was definitely not dangerous. "Anyway, I'm Yome Koko, that's my fraternal twin, Kitsuneme, and he's-"

"Hyuuga Natsume. What's your name? What is your alice?" Natsume drilled ruthlessly without preamble. His previous anger was replaced with curiosity. Why couldn't Koko's and Kitsuneme's alice work on her? He could tell that she was a powerful adversary, by the way she handled their impromptu match, but he was better. Judging from the way she looked, and her accent, he deduced that she lived somewhere near the academy. Natsume narrowed his eyes, noticing that she was weighing the pros and cons of telling them her personal information. "Even if you lie to us, we'll find out who you really are in the end. Might as well spit it out now." Her timid smile became strained as she struggled to keep herself calm.

"Fine. Then, I just won't say anything." She replied in a sickly sweet voice, flashing him a cheeky grin. Natsume's face mirrored her smirk, as he took out his cell phone and dialed a number. She, Koko, and Kitsuneme looked at him incredulously.

"Hey, can you come over to Koko's dorm real quick? I have something that will interest you." He closed his phone and placed it back into his back pocket with alacrity. After a minute of tense silence, a resounding knock was heard, and the girl's attention focused on the door. It opened to expose a beautiful girl with a willowy figure. Her shoulder length hair was jet black, and her fringe perfectly complimented her slim face. In a few seconds, a glint of recognition flashed through her amethyst eyes.

"Sakura Mikan, 16, freshmen, from the Kawaguchi area in Tokyo, or in other words, 3 hours away from the academy, and a multiple alice user." Mikan's gray eyes zeroed in on the mysterious girl, surprised that she knew so much. At least she doesn't know her alices, it would be troublesome if they knew. Keeping in mind to sustain her naive schoolgirl appearance, she convincingly opened her mouth in shock.

"Wow, who are you?" Successfully attempting to veer off the conversation of her alice.

"Imai Hotaru, also 16, from Kyoto, and I have the alice of invention." She answered indifferently.

"Super. Well, it would be a pleasure to meet you under other circumstances, but I got to go now. You know, find my dorm, settle in like other normal teens..." was what Mikan would love to say, but she had to maintain her innocent mask. "I'm very sorry, but I think I'm going to go to register for my dorm room... So if you don't mind, I will get going now." She muttered, pretending to be drowsy. Koko jumped up from his seat eagerly.

"I'll go with you! Who knows what will happen to you if you're left alone." She silently snorted to herself, thinking that her attacker would probably be in more danger than she. But instead of voicing her thoughts, she smiled brightly and thanked him. The two of them headed out the door, and he lead the way downstairs. She looked around, frowning at the plain looking hallway and dorms. Koko noticed her frown, and interpreted it correctly.

"These are just our temporary dorms, and we're walking because the elevators are really rusty here. We'll be moving into our permanent ones after they test us for our star ranking." She halted in the middle of the dimly lit staircase.

"We're going to get evaluated _again_?" Mikan said in disbelief. He chuckled amicably.

"Since we're the top Alices in the country, we need to get evaluated based on the top standards, and not the average standards. I heard that this year's test is going to be about how we use our alices in combat." Koko explained excitedly, as they started walking again.

"Do you know why Alice Academy begins in December, and why they insist on letting the 16 year old students be the freshmen? Why aren't they like normal high schools, and accept 14 year olds as the freshmen?"

"Well, to answer your first question, there have been rumors that the Academy doesn't want any of their students to go home for Christmas, but stay here for the holidays. Something about letting the students relate Christmas, and happy things like Christmas, to the school, so that students will find the academy to be enjoyable. And as for the age thing, the Academy doesn't want to deal with the immaturity of a bunch of 14 year old students, but at the same time, they don't want to put up with the restlessness of 21 year old adults." Mikan stayed silent, pondering about these revelations.

"So what is your alice?" She inquired, not wanting him to find out that she eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Well, I can read minds, but Kitsu inherited our dad's alice; levitation. Oh, you can call him Kitsu, by the way. He hates it when you use his full name." She nodded in affirmation.

"And Hyuuga's?" She asked with an air of nonchalance, she wanted to find out more about him, for future reference.

"Let's just say that you don't want to experience it firsthand." He responded with a laugh. Mikan found herself relaxing to the sound of his carefree voice, but she still kept her alice in place. She didn't want him finding out anything more than he already knows, and she could sense his desire to know what her alices are. For multiple alice users are rare.

"What is it? Tell me, I'm dieing to know!" She whined, wanting to get his mind off of her alice.

"Well, you'll find out soon enough. Everyone's always talking about how powerful his alice is."

"Okay, fine. You won't tell me. But if it's as powerful as you claim it to be, then aren't you intimidated by him?" Mikan pouted. She hated being in the dark.

"I'll admit that at first, Kitsu and I were intimidated. But then we found out that he's crazy good at soccer, so this whole week we've been playing soccer together. His best friend, Ruka, is a pretty cool guy. I'll introduce him to you one day." The two of them made it to the plain lobby, and they made their way to the front desk. A man sat in a stiff chair, dozing off. Koko cleared his throat to grab the man's attention. He sat up with a start and shook his head. He looked up at the two of them, embarrassed, while Koko and Mikan attempted to suppress their grins.

"Grade and last name?" He turned to his computer and pulled up a file.

"Freshman, Sakura." He clicked on her name, got up from his seat, and shuffled to the back. He came back lethargically, holding up a key.

"Here's your dorm key. You're in room 512, and check the bulletin board daily to see the latest updates for registration day. Have a nice evening." He said methodically, obviously tired of having to say that to hundreds of students per day. They thanked him and headed back up the stairs. Koko turned to her with a wide grin.

"What?" She asked, bewildered.

"Well, you just so happen to be between Imai Hotaru's room and Shouda Sumire's room." Mikan was overcome with the desire to knock his toothy smile off of his face.

"So?"

"Well, I'll put it this way. You cross them, or you rub them the wrong way, and you can say goodbye to your social life." He stated bluntly.

"And you're smiling, because..."

"Because I have the feeling that you three will form a team."

"For what?" She asked, letting her frustration seep through. She hated his constant use of cryptic sentences.

"For Man Hunt."


	2. Chapter II

_Chapter II_

Mikan pinched the bridge of her nose tiredly, while Koko grinned widely, showing off his dimples. They were now sitting in her small dorm, with Mikan lethargically slumped against a small stack of cardboard boxes, and Koko laying on her bed. His feet dangled off of her petite twin bed, swinging to and fro in a whimsical manner. Fatigued gray eyes glared at his two feet like they were the culprits for her recent wretched experiences.

To Mikan, the whole night has been a nonsensical blur, and now...

"So you're telling me, that this... Man Hunt is a game, which consists of many teams, and the whole point of the game is to place... a _sticker_ on a person? What the hell is the academy thinking? How does this train us and our alice?" Her brain screamed for sleep, but she refused to grant its wishes. Mikan was always very obstinate, and she wanted to figure out every aspect of this game.

Even if it meant depriving her body of an hours' worth of sleep.

If the school was actually going to implement Man Hunt, then she wanted to gain the upper hand over her opponents. Mikan was already annoyed at the fact that Natsume is already at a slight advantage, even if he does not know her alices. She did not want to lose to that bastard; she wanted to keep her perfect first place record, no matter what it took.

In response to her skeptical questions, Koko got up from her bed, tossed her dagger onto the bed, dusted off his low rise jeans, and headed out the door with an enigmatic, "you'll find out soon." He firmly shut the door behind him while she gaped at his insolence.

Sakura Mikan saw red after her initial disbelief.

She began to plot his murder, listing off the various objects she would need, like a shovel, some rope, a chainsaw, some tennis balls... No. She still had a use for him. She still needed more information about Natsume, because it was obvious that he knew more than what he was letting on. After all, the man could read minds. Yes, he was still useful.

But after that, she will contentedly enact her revenge with no restraint.

Now, all she needed to do was track down a person who would probably know everything about this game, and she wanted answers now. Luckily, she knew of a person, and hopefully said person is in her room.

Mikan got up from her cramped position on the floor, and walked over to Imai Hotaru's room. She knocked on the door with fake hesitancy, reminding herself to revert back to her naive character. It would not help her in anyway if Imai found out what she was really like. She silently prayed, hoping that Imai was in her room at the moment. Luckily, the door opened to reveal the inquisitive teen, still in her pristine skinny jeans and black blouse. Her amethyst eyes were cautious, but she let Mikan in, letting her nosy side get the best of her.

The inside of Imai's room was almost the same as Mikan's, but it was more neat and it contained a couple of personal affects; a twin bed with a navy down comforter on top, a small dresser with a mirror, a built-in closet, and an extremely small bathroom, complete with a shower. The two remained standing, as Mikan fidgeted nervously, retaining her innocent facade.

"What do you want?" Imai demanded. Inside, Mikan rolled her eyes. She could tell that Imai knew why she was here, but the manipulative teen was trying to trick her into telling everything she knew about Man Hunt. Even though Mikan knew better, she had nothing to lose from saying everything.

"All I know is that Man Hunt is a game that involves marking a person with a sticker, and that this is the method the academy uses to train Alices. But how is this game going to help hone our abilities? And how does the academy know that the students will even compete in this game? And-" Imai indifferently cut off Mikan's rant.

"Yes, Man Hunt may seem like a child's game, but it's not. It's really about strategy, have you not thought about _how_ one can successfully mark their target, especially since its going to be an Alice? Have you not thought about the possibility that this could be a method through which one can use their alice in creative ways? This is like a minuscule version of a battlefield; it's survival of the fittest. Whoever 'kills' the most people, or places the sticker on the person, comes out on top, and whoever fails to 'kill' anyone comes out at the bottom. And this game is both mandatory, as well as necessary. One's placing in the school is based on this game. As I said before, the more successful 'kills' you make, the higher your placing is, and vice versa. So it is very hard to maintain one's place, because there are probably many rounds of this game. Of course, there's bound to be some alterations of the rules along the way, but you get the point."

Mikan nodded in assent. It was all clear now, but what are the rules? As if Imai could read minds, she answered Mikan's unasked question.

"The rules will be announced during the welcome dinner on registration day."

"Meaning, we were all supposed to find out about this game at the end of the week." Mikan concluded. Two more days, then. No, one more, since it was already past midnight.

"Not quite. The freshmen should be the only ones who don't know about this game, however the upperclassmen know. Also, I forgot to mention another thing." Mikan quickly suppressed the urge to narrow her eyes accusingly at Imai. "From what I have heard, we get to form teams of six with others, however, there is a rule about the teams. And that is all I know so far." A thought suddenly struck Mikan.

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because I want to form a team with you." Imai stated indifferently. Mikan sighed loudly, remembering Koko's prediction, and coming to the conclusion that he probably read Imai's mind. She swiftly weighed the pros and cons of creating a team with Imai. If they made an alliance, then Imai would eventually find out about her alices, and on top of that, Imai would notice the fake mask she put on. But on the other hand, Imai is a very reliable source of information, which could be very beneficial, and her manipulating techniques could also prove to be the key to placing first in the game.

"Deal. You can call me Mikan." She held out a slightly tanned hand.

"And you may address me as Hotaru." The two sealed their alliance with a firm shake. They were still very wary of one another, but they felt an unexplainable bond growing between them. A small voice murmured the vow Mikan made earlier, reminding her to not get too close to Hotaru. Mikan brushed it aside, and gave a sunny grin to her new ally.

"Well, I'll be going to bed. I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" She shyly asked. In all honesty, she just wanted to get the hell out of the room without another word, but decided against it. She smiled wryly at her friendly disposition. Hotaru merely nodded, frowning at her, while she skipped out of the room.

--Registration Day--

A girl sprinted to the auditorium, her honey brown hair flailed wildly in the frosty morning air, as she cursed herself for waking up late, for the thousandth time. She finally arrived at her destination, and sprinted through the doors. She came to a halt in front of the registering desk with watery gray eyes.

"Name and grade?" She blinked rapidly to regain the moisture in them.

"Sakura Mikan, freshman." A moment later of rapid typing, the lady handed over Mikan's course schedule and identification card.

"Go through the door over there. Good luck." Mikan paid no heed to the lady, and swiftly went through the door. Her eyes met a gathering of about thirty students, all freshmen from the looks of it, because most of them looked like they were about to pee in their pants. A grand stage stood at the opposite end of the auditorium, and everyone sat in their own cliques. Mikan immediately found Hotaru, and casually made her way over, noticing that Hyuuga and his friends sat right behind her impromptu partner. Yesterday was spent with Mikan exploring the campus, and organizing her room, while keeping in mind that she would soon be switching over to her permanent dorm. After that night, she never talked to Koko, or the others, besides a few, brief greetings to Hotaru.

"The assembly is supposed to begin right now, but I don't see any grownups in here, and the stage is collecting dust. To add, the microphone stand is missing from the stage. Any thoughts, Hotaru?" Mikan found that she greatly respected Hotaru, based on all of the stories she has heard from others. The things she made with her alice were ingenious, and because of that, Mikan did not regret forming an alliance with her. Hotaru's calm face turned to her, and she opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted.

"Greetings ladies and gentlemen!" A couple of students jumped up in their seats and uttered vivid curses at the boisterous male voice. The speaker chuckled, while the two girls looked at each other, intrigued. Mikan noted that Koko wore a face of confusion, and like everyone else, was looking around wildly. He can't read the person's mind, meaning that this person must have a barrier around him, she deduced. She became even more cautious, and tensed her legs, getting ready for whatever was coming. She silently thanked herself for remembering to put her dagger into the sleeve of her sweater.

"Now, now, kids. Don't get too frightened now. We don't want the young man in front of the stage to explode the whole place up." The loud muttering of Mikan's classmates stopped abruptly. A shot of fear ran through her veins. He knew their alices, and she could sense the underlying threat clearly. She stole a glance to Hotaru, relieved to see her calculating, mauve eyes. She wasn't the only one who had perceived his threat. Out of her peripheral vision, she observed the faint discrepancies in the air near all four of the entrances. She snarled to herself. The bastard brought in some people, and two of them own the alices of teleportation and invisibility. Mikan heard a low 'tch' sound coming from behind her. She turned to see Hyuuga staring at one of the entrances with an incensed face. Her attention was instantly distracted again, except this time, the speaker was talking again.

"So, in case you all did not know, I am the principal of Alice Academy, Nomura Ichiro, and I will love to announce to you all that your first match of Man Hunt shall commence in a few moments." Mikan smiled predatorily in her mind, relishing the feeling of adrenaline in her veins. She didn't care that this match was sprung upon them, life wasn't fair anyway. She heard an enthusiastic whoop from behind her, and couldn't help but laugh giddily. She looked over at Hotaru and saw her smirking, her usual calculating face became more intense by the second. The voice continued to speak.

"Now, if you all can reach under your seats, you will notice that an envelope is addressed to you." Mikan reached under her seat, found the envelope, and stared at the neat cursive that spelt her name. "Open it, and you will find the name of your target inside, along with a sheaf of yellow stickers. Place one on your target within the time limit of 30 minutes. This is only a practice round, so do not fret if you fail at your task. Just know that you should try harder next time." The crowd's mumbling grew louder with anxiety and excitement. After a dramatic pause from the speaker, he announced with a flourish.

"Your match commences... now."

A/N: forgive me for the many mistakes I made in this short chapter. Review please?


	3. Chapter III

_Chapter III_

"Your match commences... now." As if on cue, the Alices who were teleported near the entrances became visible. Mikan noted to herself that all of the Alices looked fairly young; they appeared to be about 17 or 18 years old. Nearly all the students, the exceptions being Mikan, Hotaru, and Hyuuga, stood up with either alarm or anticipation. But despite the fact that Mikan's first round of Man Hunt was beginning, and that the once faint sense of tension became palpable, she didn't move an inch. She frowned thoughtfully as she reviewed the note once again.

**Man Hunt Practice Round**

_Sakura Mikan_

Target: Andou Tsubasa

Even though she didn't know who this 'Andou Tsubasa' guy is, there was another reason for her confusion and unease.

It was the lack of rules the principal implemented that made her so perturbed.

She won't pretend that she never gave much thought to Man Hunt after her talk with Hotaru that fateful night, but now she realized that she should have reflected on the game some more. She should have asked the indifferent teen more about the rules, because now Mikan thought of more queries, like 'does the target know who is after him/her?' which led her to more questions, until her reverie was broken by a desperate yell. She looked up from her note, and sure enough, there was a foolish boy who charged at one of the still Alices with a yellow sticker on his index finger. Mikan remained sitting, receiving a clear view of what was going to happen. She paid close attention to the boy's target, noting that the tall target was doing nothing to prevent himself from getting marked. The boy reached out an arm and placed a sticker on the man's chest, flinching in the process as if he was anticipating a strike that would never come. Mikan's eyes widened with confusion when the idiot marked his target with no problem whatsoever. However, her gray eyes narrowed when she saw all of the older, intimidating Alices chuckling.

"Strike one for Akira Mochiage for defying a rule." The target pulled the cheerily yellow sticker off of his shirt, and let it fall to the ground with a leer. "Try again... _please_."

Every freshmen in the auditorium now began to talk, speculating and attempting to deduce what other rules existed that the principle failed to mention. Mikan turned to Hotaru and was about to start firing away, but the amethyst eyed beauty beat her to the punch.

"The fool broke rule number one, the most important rule; _no one_ can see you mark your target." Mikan almost glared accusingly at her partner for excluding this piece of information from their conversation. Instead, she focused on her genuine disbelief. She had no idea that such a rule existed, but now that she thought about it carefully, the rule made perfect sense.

It was quite ingenious, actually.

Any Alice could have stuck a sticker on anyone by merely restraining the target, but with that rule, one was forced to think of innovative ways to mark another. Mikan opened her mouth to speak.

"So does the target know who's after them?" Hotaru shook her head.

"No, the target has no clue. Now if you will excuse me," She got up and drew a mini water gun out from her knee-high boots, "I have someone to 'kill.'" Her calculating gaze became one of mad fervor.

"Wait- I was wondering if you could tell me who Andou Tsubasa is before you go and... prey on a poor, unsuspecting student." Her mauve eyes glanced around the room offhandedly. They stopped at the north entrance, the one near the stage.

"Him." She nodded vaguely over to said entrance as Mikan stood up. Unfortunately for Mikan, the surrounding area was dimly lit, leaving behind many deep shadows. "The one with the black hair and blue eyes. He has a star shaped tattoo under his left eye." She squinted her gray eyes, catching a glimpse of the Alice.

He was dressed extremely casually, but looked very handsome; a black, long-sleeved shirt with a pair of ripped denim jeans, topped off with a pair of black Converse shoes. Along with his azure eyes came a look of boredom as he observed the round commencing around him. Mikan smirked predatorily, thinking of the moment she would be able to smear that expression off his face. She continued with her analysis of the tall, 6 foot something teen, while Hotaru slipped away to complete the round.

Mikan wasn't too worried about his Alice; he seemed harmless enough, and she always had her nullification alice handy. She decided to not reveal her other two alices, wanting to keep them a secret until she really needed them.

She came up with a plan, settling on the idea of using his obvious casualness against him to win the round. She carefully prowled around a couple of dueling Alices, and found herself near the deserted entrance. She realized that her target was the only one in this area, and paused for a second. Why would he stay in the shadows, when there was a huge chance that he will get marked? Unless...

"Hello, beautiful. What brings you here?" A soothing voice inquired from her right. Mikan let her nullification alice down, putting her plan to action. He stepped out into the faint light, a cocky smile spreading across his face. She feigned a blush, and looked down at her feet, trying hard not to vomit.

"I- I... I was trying to sneak around my target... and get him from behind." She muttered hesitantly, fingering a strand of light brown hair. Mikan bit her bottom lip and looked up from under her long eye lashes. She suppressed the urge to grin evilly, as she saw him believe in her story. His lips twisted into a lazy smile, as he slowly approached her, closing the few feet of distance between them. He tucked the piece of hair she was playing with behind her ear, Mikan felt her body freeze from his lingering touch, as she purposefully made her breathing hitch.

"What's your name?" He murmured in her ear. This time, Mikan could not stop herself from beaming triumphantly, as she placed the canary yellow sticker on the hem of his shirt, pretending to clutch it. She boldly put her face near his ear.

"My name is Sakura Mikan, and I just won the practice round of Man Hunt." The surprised male looked down at his shirt, spotting the mocking sticker. He took a few steps away from her, surprising her with a pleasant laugh. She felt her stiff body relax instantly, sure that he was going to be angry at her.

"Oh man, you got me there! I was so sure I had you good with my alice. I guess I was too distracted by the way you were acting. By the way, you would be a crazy good actress with the way you were trying to seduce me. It was really well done." She looked at him inquisitively.

"You knew? And you used your alice on me? Why-" She put the pieces together, realizing that the sudden stiffness she experienced must have been from his alice. She concluded that it wasn't her acting that made the effect of his alice weak, but that she had unconsciously nullified part of his alice.

"Yes, I knew. From the moment you began to approach me from across the auditorium. Anyway, since you have passed this round, you may go to the auditorium where the _real_ orientation assembly is being held. Your placing will be posted up on the first day of school in the cafeteria. I hope I'll see you around Mikan. Come find me anytime, maybe we can go out on a date." He finished with a wink. She rolled her eyes at his blatant flirting.

"So where am I supposed to go?" She asked, mildly irritated at his antics. Mikan glanced behind her, figuring out that Hotaru, Hyuuga, and a few others were gone. She tried not to be too disappointed with her slowness at completing the round, as the other Alices were still struggling to finish the round. The attractive male pushed the door open, and gestured for her to go first.

"After you, milady."

A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the ridiculously short chapter! I promise I will update REALLY soon. Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them.


	4. Chapter IV

_Chapter IV_

The day before Christmas was quite pleasant- the pale sun paired with the frigid, fresh air did not change from earlier that morning, ignoring the eventful battle which continued in the auditorium two yards away from the peculiar couple.

A tall, well-built man strolled casually next to a shorter, slender teen; the former pleasantly babbled about something with a content smile gracing his mature features, whereas the latter tainted her elegant face with an aggravated scowl. It wasn't one of those typical 'look-at-those-whores-eye-raping-the-beautiful-male-next-to-me.'

It was more of a 'I-wish-I-could-get-the-fuck-away-from-the-beautiful- male-next-to-me-and-kick-him-in-the-balls' kind of glower.

Even though Mikan would rather jump off a bridge than admit that Andou is very attractive, she couldn't help but admire the faint outline of his toned body that was hidden under his snug shirt. His raven hair whipped around carelessly in the wintry air as he gave another amiable chuckle. Mikan continued to tune out his incoherent chatting about his previous girlfriend, adding in a couple mumbled "mhmm's" and "yeah's."

At last, he finally fell silent, but the peace was short lived.

"So.. what are your hobbies? Your dreams? Your alice?" His poorly executed tone of nonchalance did nothing to hide the deliberate choice of questions; they both knew that he only genuinely cared about her answer to his last question. Mikan sighed to herself. She knew that he was going to ask the question sooner or later. She fruitlessly hoped that they were going to arrive at their destination soon. Wanting to remove all traces of pretense, she went straight to the point.

"We both know that you don't give a crap about what my hobbies and dreams are." Andou opened his mouth, but shut it quickly when Mikan continued. "As for my alice, I don't feel comfortable with disclosing this information to someone I don't know very well. Much less a person who was my target." He nodded his head in assent, then halted in his tracks. Mikan stopped too, and looked at him strangely.

"Well, then. I guess we should just forget everything that happened just now. The name's Andou Tsubasa, but you can call me Tsubasa. My alice is shadow manipulation; I can control a person's shadow to do whatever I want, but I need to come in contact with the shadow. Pretty cool, eh?" He boyishly winked at her, as she suppressed the urge to grimace.

But now, a feeling of dread filled her entire being.

Mikan was stuck between two decisions, and she didn't know which one to take. Should she allow this boy to know her name and alices, or should she revert back to her conniving ways, and trick him like she did with the others? He did tell her his alice willingly, and he doesn't seem to have any ulterior motives. She took a deep breath, coming to a decision that will soon prove to be beneficial.

"My name is Sakura Mikan, and you may also call me Mikan. One of my alices is nullification." Instead of the usual surprise she saw in people's eyes, his became excited at the disclosed information. Mikan became more relaxed, bathing in the sudden weightless feeling she experienced when she chose to not lie to the shadow manipulator. But she also felt very naked and insecure. She began to doubt her decision, allowing the oath she made earlier echo mockingly in her mind...

And here she was. Displaying one of her alices for this stranger to behold.

She had never felt so exposed. So vulnerable- it made her extremely frightened of all of the pent up emotions which exploded at the moment. The luxurious feeling of buoyancy departed, leaving a feeling of severe disappointment in its wake. Mikan wanted to cry with frustration at breaking her promise and becoming weak again, but she realized that she had no more tears left. She raked a hand through her chocolate tresses, spent from the multitude of emotions she had experienced in the past two days. Tsubasa remained silent, respectfully giving Mikan some time to get her act together, even though he had no idea what was going on. Finally, without her realizing that they had been walking again, they arrived at the doors of the real auditorium. She shook her head absentmindedly in an attempt to banish her pessimistic thoughts, and astounded her new friend even more with her next action.

Mikan Sakura slapped herself. Hard.

Tsubasa froze, his navy blue eyes widened comically as he heard her sigh with relief. Despite the evident stinging which arose from her left hand, and the brilliant fuchsia mark on her cheek, she was glad that her mind was clear again. She welcomed the feeling of composure that now displaced her once conflicted emotions.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" He grabbed Mikan's wrists, assuming that she was going to slap herself again. "You tell me your alice, and now you're slapping yourself? Jesus- if you're going to be like this, why bother telling me in the first place?" She rolled her eyes at him while she irately twisted her wrist out of his grip.

"Because-"

The doors opened to reveal a flamboyant fair-haired man, successfully cutting Mikan off. She faintly heard Tsubasa exhale in an exasperated tone. The striking man opened the doors wider, beaming at the two as if they were newborn babies.

"Welcome!" He ostentatiously ushered them in without commenting on Mikan's striking red hand print, or Tsubasa's slightly aggravated look. "My, my aren't you just a pretty one. My name is Narumi Anjo, but you better call me Mr. Narumi, Mikan." Her gray eyes became guarded when he said her name. She opened her mouth to interrogate him, but was cut off once again. "Ah, Tsubasa! I did not see you there, love." The man forcefully embraced the scared looking teen in apology. "I believe a lovely Harada Misaki is waiting for you in the back. Don't get too naughty now." He pushed Tsubasa away and the latter sprinted away with alacrity.

Mikan found herself wistfully longing to be in Tsubasa's shoes, as she braced herself for the worse, reinforcing her nullification barrier.

"Now dear, no need to be on edge." He chuckled jovially. "I'm just here to welcome you to the official Alice Academy orientation assembly. Just enter through those doors, and you will find your fellow classmates there." Mikan slowly turned to the entrance he was pointing at, careful to keep an eye on Narumi at all times. She sauntered into the actual auditorium when she was satisfied that he wasn't going to do anything.

Inside, the auditorium was at least three times as big as the previous one she was in. Rows upon rows of gleaming seats crowded the area, showing off their polished mahogany wood and red velvet seats. She spotted some teachers chatting quietly behind the drawn back curtains on the stage, and the lone microphone that stood in the middle. She ambled down the red carpeted aisle, bringing herself to a stop in front of the row where Hotaru sat. She plopped down next to her immaculate partner, feeling the vindictive clench of the aftermath of experiencing too many adrenaline rushes. Mikan transformed back into her innocent self, despondently feeling the hefty burden of guilt return. She plastered on a faux smile.

"How long have you been here for?" She observed the other Alices who made it through the round; Koko, Hyuuga, Hotaru, herself, and two others were loosely grouped together at the front of the auditorium. Koko's periwinkle eyes met her gray ones, and waved. Mikan waved back tentatively, unsure of how to handle such boisterous actions. Meanwhile, Hyuuga stared at her with a fiery intensity that made her feel intimidated. Instead of sitting up straighter, and meeting his gaze unflinchingly, she knew that this was 'out of character.' She opted to break their staring contest, and looked back at Hotaru with watery eyes, feeling a bit sore at backing down from his unspoken challenge.

"For about 23 minutes and 47 seconds." Hotaru stated a bit smugly, letting her amethyst eyes turn to Mikan. "Of course, I was supposed to finish earlier, but my 'target' was being a bit... recalcitrant." Mikan's eyebrow cocked to the side infinitesimally.

"Of course. Only you would use the word 'recalcitrant' in a regular conversation, Imai." A refined voice inputted smoothly from behind the two girls. Mikan turned around with curiosity, while Hotaru did it with indifference.

A sophisticated lady sat behind them with a blunt, unflappable aura encompassing her willowy figure. She wore a jet-black turtle neck, a pair of skinny jeans, and dark leather boots, finished with a pair of expensive pearl earrings. With her flawlessly curled, dark green hair framing her slim face and verdant emerald eyes, she could have easily passed as one of the most beautiful women in Alice Academy.

"What's up with everyone being so disturbingly pretty at this school?" Mikan accidentally mused out loud. She blushed and clapped a hand over her mouth, legitimately shocked that she had voiced one of her thoughts. The conversation between the beautiful teen and Hotaru came to a stop.

"I'm very sorry for my lack of manners. My name is Shouda Sumire, but you may call me as Sumire, Sakura Mikan."

"Oh, right. I remember Koko mentioning you before." Mikan chose to leave out the details of how they got to talking about Sumire. "Yeah, you can call me Mikan!" She gave a cheery beam, steeling herself to control the ounce of shame she felt. "But... just curious... How do you know my name? Actually, why do a lot of people know my name?" The brunette hesitantly asked, thinking back to Mr. Narumi, a bit irritated that a lot of people knew her name.

"Because many people have speculated about your alice this week. Some of the Alices who have connections realized that they can't access the file that contains your alice. Obviously, you're not the only one who has her alice under tight confidentiality, but it's still enough to make people curious."

Mikan absorbed this new bit of information, vexed at the inevitability of others trying to discover what her alices are, but relieved that the Academy managed to keep it a secret. She exhaled soundlessly, but froze with dread at Sumire's next words.

"Or should I say alices?"

In her peripherals, Mikan saw Hotaru scrutinizing her reaction to this inquiry. She realized that if she didn't act accordingly, then her fake mask will be ripped apart to shreds by these two alert women. She pinched the bridge of her nose in mild desperation, aggravated that they purposefully backed her into a corner. She sifted through the pros and cons of telling them such a personal piece of information, and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted again.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" The familiar voice of the principal rang out through the auditorium, except that this time, he was standing in the middle of the stage; visible for everyone to see.

He was a stout and little man, but he held himself with great esteem. He looked to be about 50 years old, but Mikan couldn't be sure, because the spotlight that ricocheted off of his bald head concealed his features. He wore a pricey suit, along with a jovial smile.

Mikan finally realized that the rest of the freshmen were sitting already, and that Hotaru and Sumire both wore faces frustration; although the former only had a tint of it, whereas the latter exuded extreme amounts of it. "Great job at finishing the practice round. As I expected, all of you passed the test!" Most of the audience stared at the principal in rapture, while Mikan pretended to pay attention. She saw their targets, the upperclassmen, lined up against the wall; they all had expressions of extreme boredom. However, Tsubasa wasn't there, and before Mikan could ponder about where he was, the principal caught her attention.

"Now, I will explain the workings of this Academy to all of you. First of all, I trust that you know that Man Hunt is not just a silly child's game." A few of the upperclassmen nodded in agreement. "It determines what your placing is out of your classmates, and therefore the special privileges you receive. It challenges your ability to think under pressure, and how resourceful you can be. So, I expect you all to treat Man Hunt with the utmost respect, but remember that it is just a game, and not your life." Mikan frowned, wondering why he would issue such a warning to them. She looked over at Hotaru, and saw that she wore a look of understanding. Mikan noted to herself to ask Hotaru about this later.

"So, transitioning from that serious note, I shall talk to you about the formal rules of the game. If any of you break any of the rules, the first rule being the exception, you will be taken out of the round, and banned from the next one. The first, and foremost, is that you may never be seen marking your target. Of course, as I said just now, you will not get any penalties from breaking this rule. The second is that you may not kill, or torture, your target." Mikan grimaced, not finding it hard to believe that this rule had probably been broken a couple of times. She knew some Alices who could be ruthless with getting what they want. "And there will be new rules added on to these two as we progress through the year.

"To add, we have made a slight change in Man Hunt this year." The restless shifting of the upperclassmen came to a halt. "Instead of making teams an option, it is now mandatory. You all have to form teams of six, but these Alices can only be in your year, for the sake of keeping the teams as equal as possible. When you have made your team, you all have to sign a form to seal the deal, and turn it into the main office. You will still have individual targets, but you may also get more targets. You will never receive your teammates as targets, and in some rounds, you will be allowed to ask for help from your teammates. There will be a separate placing chart for teams which offers other special rights, so it would be in your best interest to enlist powerful allies." Mikan noticed Hotaru giving Sumire a meaningful glance.

"And lastly, you will stay in your current dorms, until you have made your teams. Then you may move into your new home, with your teammates."

Mikan swore in her head, knowing for sure that her pure, joyful appearance will be dissected by at least one person, Hotaru, at every waking moment. She wasn't sure if she could handle that caliber of stress everyday without cracking.

"So, I welcome all of you, and I hope you will all have a wonderful year here at Alice Academy."

A/N: a kinda-ish long chapter, I'm very sorry that I couldn't upload it sooner! Reviews much appreciated.


	5. Chapter V

_Chapter V_

The frosty air and cloudy skies signaled the beginning of a white Christmas, chasing the students of Alice Academy into the warm comforts of their dorms. Numerous manifestations of happiness, excitement, and anticipation for the night's Christmas dance party were contagious and apparent to everyone, but they all fell silent to Mikan, as she stood in front of a pair of small, white doors.

Doors which protected her from entering a roomful of five other girls... five other _girly_ girls who were bound to be horrifyingly sharp; forcing Mikan to once again realize that allowing Hotaru and Sumire to assemble the team on their own was both a blessing and a curse.

The main reason why Mikan let them make their team was because they knew more about the students in Alice Academy than she did, and... no. She can't second guess herself again. She needed to get her act together- the past is done, and she can never change it. She agreed to herself that forming a team with Hotaru and Sumire would prove to be very beneficial, and she will stick with that decision. Even if she has to deal with high pitched squealing and... dare she say it...

_Girl talk._

Mikan allowed herself a moment's worth of nostalgia, wistfully recollecting the many carefree 'girl talks' she had in her life from a week ago, before firming her resolve. She squared her shoulders, unlocked the door, and allowed it to silently swing open. She spotted the cardboard boxes containing her belongings next to the entryway, along with the line of heels and boots that were by the single step which separated the entryway from the well furnished parlor.

The French-styled parlor emanated a feeling of welcoming, and owned a particular fondness to subtle shades of beige and elegant motifs of pastel flowers. It contained an already lit fireplace, which covered a quarter of the wall, two grand windows with benches built under them, and a carpeted floor that only enhanced the room's cozy impression. Resting in the far right corner of the room was a small grand piano, complete with a music stand next to it.

Mikan tore her gaze away from the surreal vision, and followed the mahogany wood which adorned the hallway's floors. She heard gleeful laughter coming from what appeared to be the kitchen, hastening her awestruck wandering.

The room was a kitchen, but a part of it was also the dining room, as Mikan registered the girl clad table at the far end of the room. Granite countertops met modern, expensive looking appliances, while cherry wood cabinets and drawers added a homey contrast to the kitchen. There were three more windows on the other end of the room, where the round table was, and Mikan found herself being drawn to the area.

The girls gradually stopped their giggling when Sumire stopped her story, and turned to the gray-eyed teen. Sumire gestured Mikan to sit next to her, completing the circle. Everyone agreed to introduce themselves in counter-clockwise order, beginning with the girl to the right of Mikan.

"Hiya, my name's Umenomiya Anna. And since we're a team, I think we can all call each other by our first names, yeah?" After the collective murmurings of agreement, the bubbly girl enthusiastically beamed; she had naturally curly hair, which was a shocking pink. Her fringe fell over her sparkling cobalt eyes, while her pale, heart-shaped face supported her optimistic personality. "Oh! Let's do that cool ice breaker game where you have to say something about yourself! Hm... I'm Anna and I like to cook anything and everything." She looked expectantly to her right.

"Hi, I'm Ogasawara Nonoko, and..." The girl trailed off quietly and glanced down at her twiddling thumbs, blushing. Her subtly wavy, teal hair acted as a curtain, hiding her from everyone, but when Anna placed an encouraging hand over her trembling one, she took a deep breath and looked up. A pair of stylish glasses framed her amber eyes, and her hair was partitioned in the middle, causing her bangs to frame her oval face. "And I'm a bookworm. I love sci-fi books and romance ones, but that's it." She finished with a small smile.

"Imai Hotaru, and I don't think that disclosing silly facts about myself will be productive, so I will tell you my Alice instead. For those of you who haven't heard, I have the alice of invention, which is self explanatory. I create unheard of inventions and sell them to the government." Hotaru turned her intimidating lilac eyes to the next girl.

"I'm Hyuuga Aoi and I guess I will also tell you my alices." Mikan grinned to herself, mentally congratulating Hotaru on snagging a multiple alice user...

She inhaled sharply when she registered the girl's last name, her suspicions confirmed when she finally saw Aoi's eyes.

Aoi's _crimson _eyes.

Before, Aoi was turned partially, but now she was completely facing the tense female. Like Hyuuga, she had jet black hair, except it was shoulder length and neat. Her side bangs accentuated her high cheekbones and delicate nose. Her skin was slightly tanned, making Mikan wonder if she did sports or ran a lot. Mikan relaxed, taking in Aoi's kind eyes and mellow personality, comparing it to the intense one she came to correspond with scarlet eyes.

"Anyway, I can see the future and make things combust. Unlike my stupid brother." She cutely scrunched her nose, and made everyone around the table laugh. Mikan found her giggle disgustingly saccharine and artificial, but shook herself out of her brief resentment. Mikan saw Anna and Nonoko staring at Aoi with fascination, but she was only impressed of Aoi, knowing that her alice will come in handy in the future.

"I'm Shouda Sumire and I absolutely adore shopping, clothes, make up, and shoes. By the way, Aoi, your brother is hot. Like... it's gotten to the point where I feel like I'm going to jump him and-"

"Oh god, no... please, just... STOP. FREEZE. I do not need to hear you verbally molest my brother." This time, Mikan genuinely laughed along with everyone while Aoi shuddered. When everyone calmed down, they all looked at Mikan. Rechecking her false exterior with a slight twinge of regret, she put on a bright smile

"Hey, my name is Sakura Mikan and I'm an absolute sucker for good movies." She chose to not reveal any of her alices yet, because they were still strangers, and Mikan still felt uncomfortable around them. But in the back of her mind, she knew the real reason why she couldn't tell them now.

It was because she was still afraid of rejection; the frightening possibility of betrayal; the strong sense of affection and trust that was now blooming in the group.

All of these things made her scared shitless, and this feeling made her remember the time when she told Tsubasa one of her alices. It also made her remember the promise she made, and deep down, she realized that she honestly wanted someone to make her break this vow; to make her feel substantial, safe... unconditionally loved. Mikan laughed bitterly to herself, comprehending the fact that there was no such person in the world. There were only calculating people, people who wanted to hurt you and kick you on the ground with uncontrollable maliciousness after they used you, and cowards. She smiled sardonically, realizing that she fit into all three categories. She was the scum of the earth, and here she was, smiling and laughing.

Mikan snapped out of her daydream when she vaguely heard someone call her name.

"Mikan? For fuck's sakes, Mikan! I didn't realize my story was that boring." Sumire pouted. The other girls around the table were getting up from the table, when the grandfather clock chimed four times.

"Wha- where's everyone going?" Mikan blurted, blushing furiously afterwards at her intelligent remark. Sumire amusedly looked at her, raising a perfect eyebrow at her.

"We need to get ready for the Christmas party that starts at eight, remember? Mandatory for all students? A place full of hot boys and food?" Aoi rolled her eyes at Sumire humorously, while the latter dragged a stuttering Mikan out of her seat and down the hallway. The vicious beauty shoved Mikan into an unfamiliar bathroom.

"You better shower fast, and shave! Do you have any dresses worth mentioning?" Mikan remained in her slumped position on the ground, warily listening to the faint sounds of cardboard boxes being ripped apart and clothes being thrown haphazardly. A distant voice huffed.

"Fine, I'll take your morbid silence as a no. Hang on, I think I have a dress for you... good thing we're the same size, too..."

The tyrant's padded footsteps became virtually silent, leaving Mikan to herself in the bathroom. With a resigned sigh, she got up from the cold tile floor, and entered the shower. She turned on the tap, sighing under the hot water, and smiled at the fact that she didn't have to worry about the hot water running out, unlike her old dorm's showers. She saw her razor sitting on a protruding ledge, and took in the unfamiliar toiletries which sat next to her own. She concluded that she must be sharing the room with one other person.

After her soothing shower, she dried off with her polka dot towel, realizing that someone took her clothes away and replaced it with a white, terrycloth robe.

"Mikan? I want you to brush your teeth first before we go to Nonoko and the others. You can use Hotaru's facial cream... I think it's behind the mirror."

Mikan quietly cursed under her breath as she began to brush her teeth, feeling her heart sink with dread.

"My roommate is Hotaru?" She squeaked out and heard someone moving outside.

"Bring the cream out here when you're done, so that I can put it on you. I can't have you using all of it, little girl." Mikan rolled her eyes at Hotaru's condescending voice, knowing that she was only teasing. Mikan opened the mirror, removed said cream, and headed out of the bathroom. She saw Sumire and Hotaru in their own bathrobes, the former already wearing a hideous mud mask. The latter swiftly went over to Mikan, and started to apply the cream onto Mikan's face.

Their room looked exactly like the dorms, but there were no personal effects laying around, only some cardboard boxes with Hotaru's name written on them. There were pairs of furniture, like the bed, the armoire, etc., and Mikan noticed that everything was stark white. She reminded herself to do something about that.

"You took a shower already, Hotaru?" Hotaru nodded, finished with Mikan, and began to smother her own face with the thick substance. Mikan began to feel the effects of the cream; her face felt frozen in place.

"Yeah, I took a shower before you arrived. The others are waiting for us in the den." They trooped down the hallway, entered the kitchen, and turned right, going through a doorway Mikan seemed to have overlooked.

Nonoko, Anna, and Aoi were already nestled into the overstuffed couch, talking to each other animatedly, while the fire in the hearth crackled merrily. The den's walls wore a pleasant hue of pastel yellow, while emanating a feeling of happiness. Along with the couch the three girls rested on, there were two armchairs surrounding a coffee table. On the wall across from the couch hung a massive plasma screen television, making Mikan wonder how much money Alice Academy owned. A lone window stood at the opposite end of the room, revealing gloomy clouds.

"Oh, finally we can get started!" Anna exclaimed, obviously giddy from excitement. She gestured to the array of nail polish on the coffee table in front of her. "Take your pick! I have more colors, but I was too lazy to get them. Please tell me if you can't find a color you like." Mikan gaped at the sheer number she owned, but everyone else seemed undeterred. She began to debate whether to squeal in false delight, or pretend to be indifferent. She went with the latter when Sumire picked up a jar and beckoned to her. Mikan plopped down onto the floor, settling down next to Sumire.

"Here, this color will go perfectly with your dress." Sumire began to paint Mikan's nails a deep navy color. Curious gray eyes looked over at her dorm mates. Hotaru and Nonoko opted to go with a clear polish; Anna went with a lighter shade of blue; Aoi chose to not paint her nails; and Sumire already had her nails done with a french manicure.

"Are you done yet?" Mikan whined pitifully out of habit. She sadly reminisced about the days where she and her mom would paint each other's nails for fun.

Sumire chose to ignore her.

"Are you done yet?" Mikan insisted. She repeated the question several more times to the amusement of the other girls.

"Say that one more time, and I will make you wear four inch stilettos with a dress that will bring Koizumi Luna the whore to blame." The irritated beauty threatened, causing Mikan to fall silent, feeling sorry for Koizumi. "There, now I'm done. But don't you dare ask me that question again, you hear me?" Mikan cheered childishly, before noticing Sumire's withering glare and shutting up once again.

-7:30 PM-

Mikan gawked at herself in the safe confines of her bathroom. The navy blue dress she wore was made of silk with one inch wide straps; it had a low v-neck in the front and back, and while it was cinched by a ribbon at the bottom of her chest, it did not hide her delicate curves. The bottom half of her dress flared out nicely, and black lace trimmed the hem.

While she tied the ribbon into a neat bow, she became conscious of the way her gray eyes popped, and how the navy enhanced her sun kissed skin. Her legs looked longer, because of the length of the dress, and she was internally grateful of the workouts her old P.E. teachers forced her to do.

With a fleeting grin, she walked out of the bathroom, willingly forgetting about all of her problems for the night. She saw the other girls in their elegant gowns strapping on their expensive heels, while Sumire finished up her makeup, and Anna got to work on Mikan.

Hotaru's black cocktail dress ended just above the knee with the bottom half flaring out, just like Mikan's. She wore brilliant red lipstick with blush to bring out her light skin and features, and morphed her fringe into meticulously made side swept bangs. Her shoulder length hair was left down with only a couple of curled strands, and a pair of pearl earrings with black strappy heels finished the 'old Hollywood' look .

Anna wore a strapless, white satin gown which reached midway down her thigh; the bottom half of the dress was artfully ruffled while the top had a sweetheart neckline. A cobalt blue ribbon encircled her waist, forming a bow with a diamond brooch on her left hip. Her curled hair was done up in a low chignon, and she topped it off with matching earrings and a necklace, as well as faint makeup to sharpen her features. She slipped into cobalt stilettos and grabbed her similarly colored wrap and clutch.

Like Anna, Nonoko wore the same dress, except that it was scarlet, and the ribbon was pure white. She chose to place all of her wavy hair over one shoulder, and secured it with a white flower. Anna made her amber eyes more stunning by lining them with smoky makeup, and with a touch of blush and lip gloss, Nonoko looked as stunning as everyone else.

Aoi wore a spaghetti strap burgundy dress which reached the floor. Along with the v-neck, the dress hugged her curves nicely, while a small train floated behind her. Coupled with an elaborate hairstyle, she put on a pair of dangling earrings, two inch heels, and a gold clutch. Sumire made Aoi's lids shimmer faintly with gold eye shadow, and concentrated on her crimson eyes; making Aoi's eyes seem wider than before.

Sumire had on a silky, emerald green dress which had a thick strap on one shoulder. While it reach mid-thigh in the front, it cascaded to the ground in the back, and ruffles adorned the hem of the dress. Sumire gathered her hair into a messy bun, and simply put mascara on with pink lip gloss. She decided to wear silver strappy heels with elaborate earrings, choosing to leave her purse behind.

Anna stepped back to admire her work; she put mascara, blush, and rosy lipstick on Mikan, understanding that the girl probably hated putting on lots of makeup. The clock chimed eight times, resulting in Mikan flinching weakly.

"Here, put these babies on, take this, and spray this into your hair." Sumire ordered, thrusting a pair of gold ballet flats, gold earrings, and hairspray into her hands.

Mikan tugged on the flats and quickly put on the earrings, while the others complimented each other on their outfits. She stared down at the canister in her hands.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Mikan asked Sumire, who in turn, rolled her eyes while snatching it out of her hands.

"Bend over."

"What? Why-" Sumire silenced her with another award worthy glare. She bent over with a sigh, feeling Sumire spray her honey brown hair without hesitation. She noticed that the bossy female was also scrunching her hair up in random areas.

"Okay, finished."

Mikan stood up again and saw the other girl's smug face. Mikan shot her a questioning look, to which she answered with, "I just messed your hair up to look like you just had sex. Don't worry though, it turned out quite nicely. Very fashionable-"

"WHAT?"

The other girls, the exceptions being Hotaru, Sumire, and Mikan, were struggling to restrain their laughter, and ducked out the door. Mikan scowled at Sumire upon finding out that the only way to get rid of the 'fashionable hair' was to wash off the hairspray, as Hotaru looked over at the clock.

"Well, lets go then. We have a party to get to." Hotaru said impatiently, walking out of the room.

Mikan looked at her reflection despairingly, now realizing that her makeup also contributed to the 'after sex' image. She numbly walked out the door, following the rest of the girls out of the dorms.

"I hate you." Mikan glowered darkly at the beautiful teen, but only received a cheerful grin.

"I love you, too."

A/N: Happy belated new years guys! Keep them reviews comin'.


	6. Chapter VI

_Chapter VI_

An attractive group of girls entered the freshly made dance club, which was once a magnificent ballroom, not faltering at the scene which met their eyes from the top of the grand staircase. They gracefully descended into the room with huge grins on their faces, acknowledging the sharp rise in temperature and perfume. There was already a huge mass of gyrating students at the front of the stage, which both beckoned and repelled anyone into its depths, along with the popular hip hop singer, Mouri Reo.

While Sumire, Aoi, and Anna went straight to the mass, the rest of them stayed behind, and grabbed some seats at the bar- acknowledging the fact that the bar willingly serves alcohol to students. Three juniors sauntered up to them; looking quite arrogant in their designer suits.

"We would like to order a round of drinks for these beautiful ladies." The blonde man in the middle stated, preening haughtily in front of a disinterested Nonoko. "I'm Shogo by the way. Matsumoto Shogo. But of course, I assume you know who my family is, no?" She rolled her eyes, but winced slightly when she felt her contacts move. Her eyes began to water as she blinked rapidly, attempting to place them correctly again. Unfortunately for her, he mistook her blinking as batting her eyelashes at him flirtatiously, and continued with his bragging.

"What are your orders?" Asked the bartender amusedly. Mikan gave him a thankful smile, feeling extremely irritable from the eyeing the peacock's friends gave her and Hotaru. She took a peak at the small cocktail list the bartender handed to her, and chose the most expensive drink there. Hotaru grinned maliciously when she realized what Mikan was doing.

"Do you happen to have any specialty sakes?" Hotaru inquired under her breath. Mikan grinned, cottoning onto Hotaru's thinking.

The man never said that they couldn't order a whole bottle of something, did he?

In reply, the bartender handed her a long list. Mikan's eyes bugged out of her head, while Nonoko sadly tried to ignore the persistent flirt. After a few moments of contemplation, Hotaru pointed to one, and ordered two small bottles of it.

"And bring six glasses, too."

While the bartender bustled off to retrieve said sake, Mikan took a peek at the menu, only to find out that a small bottle of it was worth about 45 rabbits. She furrowed her eyebrows together, faintly recalling that students used rabbits as their type of currency in Alice Academy, not yen. But how much was a rabbit worth?

She snorted at how ridiculous her question sounded, and then remembered that one rabbit was worth 100 yen.

"Here's your order, miss." He set Mikan's drink in front of her. "And here's the _Namazake Junmai Ginjo_. That will be a total of-" The blonde man handed the bartender his gold credit card carelessly. Mikan cocked her head to the side; wondering if that golden card contained rabbits.

"Since school is starting tomorrow, we can use normal currency. But when school starts we have to use rabbits." Hotaru explained, frighteningly interpreting Mikan's confusion correctly.

"To these lovely angels!" Matsumoto attempted to say in a sexy manner, but only succeeded in making his voice crack magnificently. He snaked his arm around Nonoko casually, while she sighed and downed her shot of sake in one go. Mikan glanced over at Hotaru, and together, they gulped it.

The back of Mikan's throat seared terribly like she swallowed a mouthful of hot sauce. After a few moments of blinking her watery, gray eyes, and giving a few sputtering coughs, she gathered herself together. Instead of focusing on the painful burn she felt at the back of her mouth, she paid attention to the way the sake tasted; it had the slight tartness of apple, but it also held tints of sweet vanilla. Overall, it tasted quite nice, and not at all like the harsh bitterness everyone has told her about.

Both she and Nonoko put their shot glasses down simultaneously, while Hotaru remained unaffected by the drink. However, the trio of juniors wheezed and rubbed their teary eyes pathetically. Mikan poured everyone another shot, to which Nonoko tipped her glass to an amused Hotaru, and swallowed it in a gulp.

"Why don't we play a drinking game, eh? We can play that 'I have never' game." Hotaru suggested in a deceivingly innocent voice. The mauve-eyed girl could tell that the three idiots can't hold their liquor to save their lives. Along with Mikan, they herded them over to an empty table by a wall, and sat facing each other.

"I'll go first!" Volunteered one of Matsumoto's lackeys. "I have never had a girlfriend who didn't want to get paid to go out with me."

Mikan snorted, unsurprised as all three men downed their shots. Nonoko cried out in shock as the one who just spoke fell over in his seat and vomited on the floor.

"Oh my god. That's just the second shot, dude!"

Hotaru looked over at the speaker, while Mikan and Nonoko stared at the hunched over teen with disgust. But to be honest, Mikan felt a little more than tipsy- the edges of her shot glass was beginning to blur subtly. She pinched her thigh to snap her out of her daze.

"Hey, Mikan!" She looked up, realizing that Koko was the man who spoke earlier. She gave him a bright smile, not noticing the faint tinge of pink which appeared on his cheeks. "This is Nogi Ruka. Ruka, this is Sakura Mikan." She frowned, but then perked up when she remember why his name sounded familiar.

"Ah! Hyuuga's best friend, right?" She extended her arm, not caring that her initial mask of indifference she worked so hard to keep on was beginning to come off. "It's very nice to meet you. You can just call me Mikan."

"Likewise." His periwinkle eyes sparkled kindly. His golden hair hung handsomely over his sharp features, and along with a noteworthy smile, he had dimples.

The two teens looked like tall, European models, with their crisp, black tuxedos.

"Can we join you guys? I really don't want to join that huge puddle of sweaty people over there." Koko asked, motioning over to the stage. Nonoko nodded mutely, and the two took the, now, vacant seats across them.

"Where did the pansies go?" Mikan asked, completely out of her previous tipsiness.

"They went away, somewhere. I think they were a little scared of getting their prides destroyed by a bunch of little girls." Hotaru snorted derisively, disappointed in getting conned out of crushing a bunch of upperclassmen.

"Why don't we have a go?" Ruka inquired politely. He stared at Hotaru mildly, but the latter knew he was challenging her. She smirked at him coolly.

"Well, you need a third person before we can-"

"Sorry, couldn't get away from Koizumi." The chair next to Koko, and diagonal from Mikan slid out from under the table. Mikan's surprised eyes slowly crept up a lean body to meet...

"Natsume! Nice, we got our third person Imai. Let's go then, we're playing 'I have never,' yes?" Koko clapped the striking teen on the back. Mikan peeled her gray eyes away from his enigmatic ones.

"Why don't we make it boys against girls, and when everyone on that team loses, they have to participate in the karaoke contest that's happening later on tonight?" Mikan said suddenly. She ducked her head down when they all stared at her.

"That's brilliant. I'm all up for it. Scared, Imai?" Koko taunted. Hotaru's lilac eyes tightened infinitesimally.

"We're in, but let me switch someone out." Koko opened his mouth, but changed his mind and remained silent. "Nonoko, is it alright if you switch out with Sumire?" Nonoko quickly agreed, leaving the table with a grateful face. Sumire arrived only seconds later.

"Uh... what did you guys get yourselves into?" Sumire demanded. Mikan almost burst out laughing when she saw the beauty's emerald eyes take in the tense atmosphere and expensive sake. To Mikan's distaste, she saw Sumire's eyes linger on Hyuuga longer than necessary.

"Battle of the sexes; 'I have never.' Are you in or not?" Hotaru prompted tersely. Sumire sat down across Ruka on the edge, and began to fill up everyone's glasses in response.

"I'll start us off, but first we need to clarify that in this game, you cannot use, 'I have never been a man/woman,' etc. Is that clear?" Hotaru looked around the table menacingly, daring someone to disobey her. "Good. I have never-"

Koko groaned, and gulped his shot, annoyed. Hotaru rolled her eyes, and finished her sentence with, "masturbated."

Sumire shook her head amusedly and tipped her drink down her throat, while Ruka and Hyuuga resignedly drank. Mikan just looked at Sumire with a puzzled face, speculating upon the thought of how girls could masturbate. She shook her head when the next person started.

"I have never been touched by Koizumi in a suggestive manner." Sumire stated proudly. While Koko was, once again, the first one to gulp his shot down, the other two did it just as rapidly.

"I have never eaten any kind of meat before." Ruka declared. Everybody down their shots without another word, but at Mikan's questioning glance, Ruka explained, "because I have the alice of animal inclination pheromone, and I love animals."

"I have never shaved my legs before." Hyuuga said indifferently. The girls all drank, and so did an embarrassed Ruka.

"Dude, seriously?" Koko's face had a mixture of awe and shock. It soon became one of pity when he read his friend's mind. "I'm so sorry, man..." The others didn't bother with asking Ruka to explain, and Koko quickly said his to change the topic.

"I have never spent more than 15 minutes getting ready for school." Sumire muttered a low insult, but drank anyway, along with Mikan. Hotaru did not drink, however, and replied to everyone's confused faces with a, 'not all girls take forever to get ready.' It was now Mikan's turn.

"I... have never... watched porn." She tried to say clearly, fighting away the alcoholic stupor which was beginning to overcome her. She felt a cool hand slip something into her very warm one, and looked down.

It was Hotaru's hand, and the 'something' was a small orange pill. Hotaru discreetly motioned to Mikan to swallow it, while glancing at a distracted Koko, to make sure he couldn't read her mind. Mikan nodded dizzily, and swallowed the pill when no one was looking. She instantly felt more awake, and began to curse her inability to hold her liquor. She saw Hotaru refilling Sumire's and the three boys' glasses up.

"You've watched porn before Sumire?" Mikan exclaimed. The girl grinned sheepishly, while Koko looked at her with wide eyes.

"Wow, that's really... man, that's _really_ kinky." Koko gave a boisterous chuckle whilst imperceptibly shifting in his seat. Hotaru smiled evilly, noticing that he was the only guy who was getting drunk. She kicked Sumire on the seat and jerked her head to Koko, mentally relaying her plan. Koko groaned upon hearing Hotaru's thoughts, and attempted to wake himself up by rubbing his face vigorously.

"I have never had an erection while playing 'I have never.'" Hotaru's smile became wider when Koko drank his sake, whereas Sumire looked at him with a repulsed face.

"I have never gone commando to bed." And that was the last shot Koko had, before throwing his hands up in defeat.

"I... giveeeee upp..." He slurred drowsily. He looked across to Mikan and gave her a lopsided grin. She hesitantly smiled back. "Your shmileee... ish REALLY" he flung his arms out wide, catching a stranger in the chest. "Ohh... shorry.. ANYWAY" this time, he slammed his hands onto the table with Sumire and Hotaru snickering, "ish REALLY prettyy... like a flower... orrr.."

Mikan stood up and grabbed Koko's hand, while Sumire clutched the table from laughing so hard.

"Okay, big guy. Let's go outside and get some fresh air, okay? Hotaru can you..." Hotaru gave Mikan the small pill. "Ah, thanks. We'll be right back guys! Let's go..." Koko tilted towards Hyuuga, who caught him deftly, and together they made their way to the grand staircase. Halfway up, Koko tilted towards Mikan, causing his face to fall near her head, much to her remorse, and inhaled loudly.

"You shmell really goooood, Mikan... like... topical... tropicana...?" Koko fell asleep before finishing his sentence, while the two continued to haul him up the stairs. They finally reached the lobby, where they laid him down on his side against the wall.

Or more like Hyuuga heaving him onto the floor with a resounding 'thunk,' and shoving him up against the wall on his side.

"Get me some pillows." Hyuuga ordered. Mikan went over to a couch and grabbed some pillows from it. He then proceeded to align the pillows in front of Koko's body.

"So... why is Koko backed up against a wall with a bunch of cushions surrounding him?"

"It's so that he can't roll over onto his front and make him suffocate on the ground. Also, we put him against the wall so that he can't roll onto his back and make him choke on his puke." Mikan's gray eyes widened with surprise.

"That can happen? Really?" He grunted in response, and they fell into an awkward silence, remembering their encounter in Koko's room. Suddenly, he broke the silence, much to Mikan's surprise.

"I know you guys cheated." Natsume stated indifferently. He turned his head to the side to look at her, while she stared at him defiantly.

"How do you know it's not because I have a very high tolerance for alcohol?" She retorted defensively. Mikan didn't know why she always felt so cross around Hyuuga, and that made her even more grumpy.

"Because you were already slurring your words when you went earlier." He replied calmly. "And I never specifically said, 'you.' I said, 'you guys.' I guess you did cheat." His gaze now became accusatory.

"I know what kind of person you are; always full of lies and never the truth." He finished.

Mikan bristled at his automatic stereotype, but was agreeing with him on the inside. She was full of lies, playing along with a bunch of girls she was sure she didn't belong with. But she knew that the in the end, the results of this deception would make up for it...

Right?

Mikan shooed away her traitorous thoughts, and focused on retorting against Hyuuga's statement.

"What? So now you've got me all figure out, huh? What the hell makes you think-" Mikan was interrupted by a high-pitched squeal which was met with a silent groan from Hyuuga.

"Fuck."

"Natsume! There you are darling! Oh, I was looking _everywhere_ for you. Come on, let's dance!" A tall, skinny blonde appeared in front of Hyuuga, tapping his nose with a perfectly manicured nail. Mikan beamed widely at Hyuuga's obvious disgust, coming to the decision to make this girl into her best friend.

"Yeah, Natsume _darling_. Go dance with her!" Mikan sneered at Hyuuga; her newfound hatred towards him getting the best of her. She smugly relished in his anger when he heard her say his first name.

"But Mikan _sweetheart_, I thought we had plans tonight!" He said with fake surprise. He grabbed her small hand and squeezed it tight.

To anyone around them, they would've looked like the perfect couple, but what they didn't know was that Hyuuga's grip on Mikan was constricting, and that Mikan was digging her nails into his hand, attempting to make him lose his hold on her.

The blonde glared at their interlinked hands, and then at Mikan.

"Who the fuck are you? Get your hands off of my man, and run off and play with your stuffed dolls?" The blonde spat venomously.

"No, this is a misunderstanding! I am _not_-"

"Shut up, Mikan. Sorry, but I'm taken. So can you please leave my girlfriend and I in peace? We really don't like noisy sluts." The blonde only leered nastily and walked away back to the club, sensually swaying her lower half with practice ease. She stopped at the doorway, her hand already on the handle.

"You better be careful, bitch. And remember- Luna Koizumi is going to _crush_ you to pieces."

A/N: Reviews are better than 'I have never' games... :)


	7. Chapter VII

_Chapter VII_

_"You better be careful, bitch. And remember- Luna Koizumi is going to crush you to pieces." _

The doors that led to the party shut with a resounding snap, leaving behind a deafening silence in its wake. While Natsume gazed at Mikan to see her reaction, the latter attempted to smother the bubbling temptation to smile at Luna Koizumi's threat. Mikan snickered to herself, entertained of the fact that Luna honestly believed her threat would scare Mikan.

The audacity of that bimbo.

"Why are you smiling like an idiot?" A rough voice rudely asked. She looked over at Natsume, taken aback by their close proximity. She scooted back an inch and wrenched her hand out of his clutches.

Mikan thought quickly, coming to the conclusion that in the long run, it would be essential for her to stay as inconspicuous as possible. Especially from Natsume Hyuuga.

This encounter with the infamous Queen Bee can prove to be the perfect opportunity for her to build said incognito status. But to do that, she would need to act like a normal girl her age. She smiled tightly to herself, formulating an answer an ordinary teen would say in her situation; but at the same time not completely confuse him with a sudden change in personality.

"I was just thinking of all the horrible things Koizumi is planning to do to me... and it's all _your_ damn fault. Is it weird of me to smile at my screwed up situation in response?" She ended with a biting tone. To add to her mini outburst, she narrowed her gray eyes in distaste.

Mikan almost sighed with relief when Natsume showed no signs of suspicion, but she could detect a subtle hint of disappointment.

"Why do you look-"

"Hey guys! Koko's going to wake up in a second, and if you don't shove that fantastic pill into his mouth, he's going to puke all over the place." Aoi announced, cheerfully flouncing into the room.

Mikan quirked an eyebrow at Aoi, suspecting that her timely arrival was to prevent Mikan from saying her next sentence. Right when Mikan was about to analyze Aoi, an agonized groan was heard from the ground.

Mikan chucked the magical pill into Koko's mouth with alacrity, forcing him to gag and swallow it before anything came up. A moment later, his green-tinged face became its normal shade as he looked up at all three of them gratefully, not trusting himself to open his mouth just yet.

"The game's off, by the way. I think we should hurry back to our dorm, Mikan. Koizumi's planning on ruining your dress and humiliating you in front of the whole academy." Aoi tugged Mikan upwards with a faint sense of urgency.

Mikan analyzed the other girl's face for a second, catching Aoi's nervous crimson eyes darting everywhere but at Koko. She realized that Aoi was lying, but allowed Aoi to pull her out of the building, before looking back in time to see Koko speaking to Natsume immediately. Mikan faced forwards again, curious as to why Aoi would lie.

"But what about the others? And what was that back there?"

Aoi glanced at Mikan over her shoulder.

"They'll come over soon, but Sumire and Hotaru wanted to bully poor Ruka some more. Apparently he's the type of drunk who tells the truth about anything he's asked. Hotaru said it was for 'business purposes.' And I was trying to prevent Koko from reading my thoughts back there. Didn't work out too well, did it? Now they know." She chuckled quietly, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear.

"By the way... how does your Alice work? Can you just.. see the future of everyone around you, or something?" Aoi's grip on Mikan was unceasing.

"It's more like I see the future of people who are important to me." Aoi interpreted Mikan's bewildered look correctly. "I don't get to decide who's future I see, and I'm working on increasing how much of their future I get to see. But some other... greater entity... or something of the like feeds me the visions of people, who undoubtedly become very important to me. Maybe its fate? Or maybe I _do_ get to choose which people, I just don't know it. There have been centuries of discussion about my Alice, Mikan, so I can't really explain it to you very well." Aoi truly looked as apologetic as she seemed.

Mikan decided to not ask anymore questions, grateful that Aoi didn't question Mikan about her Alice.

Outside, the joyful Christmas lights that surrounded all of the surrounding buildings lit up the campus; fending off the consuming dark. Mikan smiled nostalgically at the black sky, recognizing the familiar specks of white ethereally floating down to Earth. Her breaths came out as wispy furls as her feet pounded into the icy ground, careful not to slip.

She shivered from the bitter cold, as the two of them trotted over to their dorm. Aoi fumbled with the keys a bit, her cheeks and nose pink from their spontaneous run. She threw the door open and rushed inside in a flurry, pouncing on something in the middle of the hallway; Aoi gave an excited shout of laughter.

In contrast, Mikan closed the door calmly, turned on the lights, and took off her shoes mutely.

She neatly sat down next to Aoi, and watched the latter rip through a manila folder. The contents came spilling out from the girl's hasty opening, and Aoi's earlier actions finally became clear.

The papers were instructions for the first official round of Man Hunt.

"The first round starts tomorrow when the school bell rings and it will last for three days. Individual targets only, and groups who have already formed cannot help each other." Aoi read out loud.

Mikan looked at Aoi approvingly, proud of the girl for attempting to keep this piece of information hidden from Natsume and his lackey. However, Mikan contemplated, it is unfair of the school to send in the instructions the night of the huge dance party.

Without a doubt in her mind, Mikan also figured that the school probably knew that 90% of its student population would be hammered on this night, and decided to take advantage of that.

"Hey, Mikan, who do you have?" Aoi inquired.

Mikan shuffled through the pile and found the sheaf of paper with her name typed on it. Underneath her name read: Matsutaka Maya.

"I got Matsutaka Maya. Who is she?" Aoi grimaced in response.

"All I know about her is that she has the alice of flexibility and that she is obsessed with my brother. She's the president of the Natsume- Ah, here they come." Aoi said, suddenly looking at the door, while Mikan wearily eyed it.

Then, the door flung open spectacularly, regurgitating three panting girls and an apathetic one.

"THE INSTRUCTIONS!" Sumire screamed loudly. Aoi and Mikan shuffled backwards while the other girls scrambled for their corresponding papers.

After a moment of watching the others read their papers intently, Aoi finished her sentence.

"As I was saying, Matsutaka is the president of the Natsume Fanclub." Mikan rolled her eyes in a manner which stated that she was not surprised. She thought for a moment, assuming that practically every student in the school knew that Hyuuga was a sight to behold. Hell, even she admitted to that, however, she was not utterly in love with him...

Like every _normal_ and _average_ girl at the academy.

Her thoughtful expression soon morphed into a devious grin.

"Sumire, Hotaru," the two girls looked up at Mikan simultaneously. "How long does it take for a rumor to spread throughout this school?"

"It depends on how scandalous it is and who it's about." Anna piped up.

"What if it was about me claiming that I am more obsessed with Hyuuga than the president of the Natsume Fanclub?"

Hotaru shared the same sly look as Mikan, cottoning onto her plan.

"I'd give it half a day with my connections." Mikan quickly rejected Hotaru's offer.

"I want to do this all by myself. Aoi, can you please start telling me everything a fan should know about your brother?"

**A/N:** Does this answer your question, .imagination? :)

Reviews make me write faster! ;D

~Cheers


	8. Man Hunt Part 1

_Man Hunt Part 1_

Faint murmurs could be heard from the other side of the classroom doors; whereas the hallway was empty, save for Mikan and her friends. As the silence smothered Mikan's ears, leaving behind an irritating droning buzz, she embraced her temporary adrenaline-induced euphoria. She tuned in to the fluttering tremors she felt tingling through her body, and took a quick sip from her water bottle to moisten her mouth, flying through the _numerous_ things Aoi told her about Hyuuga. She prepped herself up by inhaling and exhaling deeply through her nose, obviously swept up in a hurricane of anxiety. When the warning bell reverberated through the school, she cracked a confident grin on her face, ready to finally partake in the beginnings of a game- both literally and metaphorically- that will give some meaning to her life.

"Ready?" Anna whispered from behind her. Mikan merely nodded and opened the door.

Inside the classroom, the faint murmurs exploded into a loud tumult of activity. Mikan stared around the room, taking in the strident gaggles of students, and the occasional blast of an alice- the result of wanting to impress one's peers. There were elevated desks and benches encompassing the perimeter of the room in a half circle, leaving a small podium at the front of the room with a blackboard. It was then, that Mikan noticed some girls hurling nasty looks towards her direction. She heard Hotaru snort under her breath derisively.

Right after this, all of the girls turned pale and immediately looked away with fright.

"Ah! Let's sit here guys!" Aoi called them near the back corner of the enormous room, the only safe haven in the midst of the boisterous noise. Mikan then realized that Hyuuga or any of his friends have arrived yet.

They trudged up the steps, talking blithely, until Luna Koizumi and her two friends stepped in their path.

The hubbub instantaneously died down with her next words.

"Haven't left campus yet, have you? Skanks are welcome here." Her friends tittered sardonically while leering down at Mikan.

A surge of anger bloomed within the pit of her abdomen, and she darted her flashing eyes to the floor, avoiding any eye contact with the three blondes in front of her. She had to get a hold of her emotions before retaliating, because she knew that Koizumi was trying to provoke her into a pointless rage. Mikan stayed silent with difficulty.

"Then what are you doing here, Koizumi?" Sumire retorted venomously.

A ring of spectators formed around Mikan, Sumire, Koizumi, and her lackeys. They all stood there with shocked expressions. Koizumi only smiled saccharinely in return.

"I believe I was talking to _Mikan_... Unless she's so dumb that she has to have _you_ talk for her. Pathetic." The blonde sneered.

Mikan grounded her teeth with painful ferocity and clenched her hands so hard, they turned white. In spite of her furious vehemence, she restrained herself from jumping the insolent female and throttling her perfect face- but that didn't stop her from imagining 101 gruesome scenarios she could instigate that would injure Koizumi effectively.

Before she could get to the 79th scenario, Mika received an epiphany, and while the stench of anger was still there, her emotions became more calculating. She decided to use this run-in with Koizumi to tweak her plan a little. Right when Sumire opened her mouth, Mikan cut in smoothly.

"At least I have a chance with _Natsume_, Blondie."

A collective gasp was heard all around Mikan, and then rapid mutterings. She smiled with satisfaction at Koizumi's angered face, until she felt something shoving into her nullification barrier.

Someone was trying to use their alice on Mikan.

She narrowed her eyes towards the source- not surprised to see one of Koizumi's cronies with a look of intense focus and confusion. But before Mikan could call out on the other girl's foul play, everyone went silent again, and the ring opened up for...

"Hyuuga." Mikan said out loud on accident.

Koizumi's snarl morphed into a charming smile in an instant as Hyuuga stood to the side with a blank look.

"Natsumeee- this _thing_ seems to think that she can come in between our love. Tell her that's not-"

Mikan rolled her eyes at Koizumi's whining.

"Well... If you two are really in love with one another, why did _Natsume_ willingly hold my hand last night?" Mikan challenged, playing on her obsessive fan girl image.

Muffled snickers could be heard from the crowd, which did nothing to lessen Koizumi's embarrassment. Mikan thought she heard Koko call out 'ice' from her right.

Hyuuga only faced Mikan with the same monotonous face, to which the latter strolled over to him and grabbed his warm hand in response. Surprise flickered across his face, which soon gave way to minor suspicion. Nevertheless, he played along, crushing Mikan's small hand with a vindictive smile on his face. Mikan arranged her mask to look like she was in raptures, and genuinely blushed out of anger, and not love.

After this, Koizumi marched up to Mikan and put her flawless face near Mikan's.

"I wouldn't be talking like this, if I were you. You see... I'm in the Special class, so I'd be careful."

While nearly everybody in the ring cowered slightly- given that the Special class in Alice Academy was formerly known as the Dangerous Abilities class- Mikan was clearly not intimidated.

She decided to not tell Koizumi that she, too, was in the Special class, because Mikan dearly wanted to see the blonde's face of outrage and intimidation when she found out.

Oh, how eagerly she is looking forward to that class.

Mikan smiled brightly and said, "you're just jealous that I'm his number one fan, and not you. I know so many things about him that any fan would kill to know."

Of course this was a bluff, and she hoped to god that Koizumi wouldn't test her.

Fortunately she didn't.

But instead, the shoving soon became much more insistent, for it was joined by two other players; Koizumi herself and her other moronic friend. Mikan loosened her grip on Hyuuga's hand and was about to retaliate, until a shrill whistle ruptured through the tension and Mikan's livid outrage.

She tore her gaze away from Koizumi's bewildered expression, and looked down at the podium. To her surprise, it was Mr. Narumi.

"Now students, the final bell just rang! You better get to your seats before I punish you all." He finished with a wink.

Everyone dispersed, shuffling away and talking about what just transpired. Koizumi threw Mikan a look that said, 'I'll get you back for this.' The latter merely turned away, following her friends to the back corner of the room. She chose to sit in the second to last row, which was right next to the window.

"Move. I'm sitting there." A familiar low voice commanded.

Mikan looked up to see Hyuuga looking at Aoi, who was about to sit next to Mikan. Aoi pouted at her brother.

"But-"

"I was sitting next to Youichi, so we're switching seats." Aoi's face brightened up, and without another word to Mikan, she flounced away.

Mikan heard the chair next to her scrape back loudly, causing her to flinch. She spotted Koizumi giving her a malevolent look from across the room, and wanting to add salt to the blonde's wound, Mikan pretended to spot a piece of lint on his chest and plucked it off. She exaggerated her plucking off the lint, making her touch linger longer than necessary at his chest. She focused on zoning out her teenage hormones which were squealing at her to touch his muscular abs next.

Nevertheless, she couldn't help but imagine how he would look shirtless.

Mikan smiled sadly to herself, thinking that if she were a different girl, or if the circumstances were different, her reactions to him would be correspondent to a legitimately normal teenage girl. Maybe she would be giggling out of excitement, or flirting with him, but the world was unfair, and just didn't give a crap about 'what if' situations.

She looked down at her desk and quickly took out her notebook and pencil.

Mr. Narumi began speaking, going over the rules of the school, and of his classroom, while launching off onto unrelated tangents. It was then, midway through the period, that one of Koizumi's friends stood up with a screech. Everyone turned to her with mild curiosity, and they all saw Sumire with a haughty smirk plastered all over her face.

"What's wrong, Mia?" Koizumi's other friend asked with false worry.

"THIS!" Mia tore off a yellow sticker from her shoulder.

Without meaning to, Mikan laughed a breathy chuckle, catching onto what had happened. Sumire looked at Mikan, and they both shared discreet air-five's.

"Took you long enough, sweetie. I put it there right before class started- better try smarten up, or a pretty thing like you may never win a single round of Man Hunt." Sumire said pleasantly, tucking a strand of curled hair behind her ear.

Mia stomped out of the classroom with a snarl and slammed the door shut. The whole class looked at each other nervously, the paranoia of not getting 'killed' was beginning to seep into the room.

The occupants of the back corner, however, were unaffected.

Mr. Narumi continued his lecture as if nothing happened; except this time, he flailed his arms about to emphasize certain points.

Mikan resumed her intense staring contest with her mechanical pencil, blinking rapidly up at the ceiling every once in a while.

"Why are you doing this?" Hyuuga asked suddenly. Mikan turned her head to the left and looked out the window.

"Why am I doing what?" She asked back. Intently surveying the snow-covered cherry tree and its stark white surroundings.

"You know what I'm talking about." He murmured to her.

Mikan pressed her lips together.

"What? That I'm your biggest fan ever?" She countered. Mikan heard him sigh tiredly.

"We both know that's bullshit, _Mikan_. If I remember clearly, the first time we met you pretty much tried to take me out, and we argue every time we see each other. I find it hard to believe that you are capable of becoming my fan." Hyuuga's deep voice dripped with sarcasm. "And what was that? 'I know so many things about him that any fan would kill to know.'" He scoffed.

Mikan bristled with exasperation, now finding the wintry landscape outside irritating.

"You want me to prove it to you?" She spun around to face him, her eyes blazing.

"Go for it. I would love to hear what other fans would 'kill to know.'" He leaned back, and folded his arms over his chest- looking quite handsome in his gray long-sleeved T and ripped jeans.

"Well, I know that you have the alice of fire, I know that you love soccer and that you used to dream about becoming a pro. I know your birthday's November 27, which just passed, so happy birthday, jerk. You love to ditch school, and you would rather be in an isolated place than in a crowded one. You read manga a lot in your free time, you can get obsessive over things, you wear boxers to bed- supposedly black ones, and you hate spicy food, but you like strawberries and cheeseburgers. And I know that you can play the trumpet, but suck at the saxophone. Do I need to say anything else?" Mikan recited, recalling random bits of information from the top of her head.

Judging from the look on Hyuuga's face, everything she just said was accurate. She silently thanked Aoi, and noted to herself to get something nice for her.

The two of them stared ahead quietly for the rest of the period, until the bell rang for break. Hyuuga stood up abruptly and strolled away, but after two steps he turned around with his hands in his pockets.

"Call me Natsume." He said levelly, his indifferent demeanor set back in place.

"Excuse me?" Mikan ogled at him incredulously.

"Choose a god damn name to call me and stick with it. It's annoying when you switch from Hyuuga and Natsume. And it will make your ruse as my 'number one fan' more believable."

Mikan stared at his retreating back with confusion and minor respect- only a man as perceptive and sharp as Natsume could catch onto her plan so quickly.

Her reverie was soon interrupted by Nonoko frantically dashing up to her.

"She _knows_ already. She's coming!" The girl reported fretfully. She sat down in Natsume's old seat and began to bounce her leg up and down, while fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

"Who are you talking about?"

Nonoko's eyes widened to the size of large saucers, and her fidgeting seized.

"Matsutaka Maya." A voice laced with superciliousness said from behind Mikan.

.

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**A/N: **The next update should be up next week (I've already started on it.).

Reviews are a little less awesome than a shirtless Natsume, but they're still welcomed!


	9. Man Hunt Part 2

_Man Hunt Part 2_

Mikan quickly whirled around with mild bewilderment; genuinely surprised, for she didn't sense anyone behind her until now. When she finished turning, she took a quick glance downwards at the stranger's hands to make sure that the person wasn't her Killer. After her covert peek, Mikan looked up at the stranger to find that it was Matsutaka Maya- the strawberry blond hair with blue colored contacts were a dead giveaway. She concealed her overwhelming glee and plastered on a face of resentment and slight haughtiness, folding her arms in front of her.

"Sakura Mikan, I presume?" Matsutaka looked up and down Mikan's body imperiously, which only increased the forged look of incense on the latter's face.

"And who are you?" Mikan inquired, wanting to rile the other girl up, who straightened her posture with pride in return.

"I am Matsutaka Maya; Natsume's _real_ number one fan."

Mikan scoffed loudly, glad that everyone in the classroom were too busy talking about Sumire's quick completion of the round or stalking down their victims.

"Really? Then why hasn't he mentioned you on any of the _countless_ dates he's asked me out to?" Mikan swiftly kicked herself mentally, not meaning to say that at all.

But the faintly disheartened and furious look on Matsutaka's face was worth it.

Mikan continued with her harsh assault, "and you're his number one fan? I highly doubt that, have you ever been inside his room? Has he ever hugged you, or called you by your first name?" With each point, Matsutaka's vehemence mounted, until the girl completely snapped.

She slapped Mikan with so much force, that Mikan's head snapped to the side with an audible crack. The room went silent once more, as Mikan righted her posture, now genuinely infuriated; but this did not cloud her judgment.

Slipping a yellow sticker in between her index and middle finger, she struck back with equal force- careful to hide the marker in Matsutaka's hair. A long line of curse words were squealed by the other girl, as she clutched the brilliantly red handprint on her cheek.

"Don't you dare hit me ever again, do I make myself clear?" Mikan muttered, not wanting anyone to hear but Matsutaka. The girl ran out of the room with tears in her eyes. "Oh, and you might want to check your hair!" Mikan called out after her.

The silent room became noisy again when the door closed. Everyone looked at her like she was a caged lion, not bothering to hide their remarks about her temper and terrible personality. Mikan shrugged their comments off, not caring about what they thought. She sat back down at her desk and exhaled all of her tension out. Her lips curved up at the successful execution of her plan. Nonoko only ogled at her.

The bell rung, signaling the beginning of class, as the rest of Mikan's classmates came piling in. Among them were Hyuuga and his crew and Hotaru, who had a smug air about her. Mikan guessed that she also completed the round just now.

Mikan then saw Aoi, who was just joined by one of Hyuuga's friends, and gave a start when she saw the two of them kiss. The boy was lanky and had a mop of silvery-gray hair with eyes that matched, only they had a tint of green in them. Mikan watched them as they strolled over to their desks holding hands, while chatting amiably. The love that emanated from the two was apparent.

Hyuuga, once again, chose to sit next to Mikan. She frowned down at her desk thoughtfully, speculating upon why he would voluntarily choose to be with her, and not with his friends. He shifted away from his desk, slouching indifferently in his seat with his hands in his pockets. The teacher- Mr. Jinno- walked into the classroom, thus beginning math.

Mikan groaned internally; she was never good at math. In fact, she was terrible at it, and if she was any worse at the subject, she probably would have never gotten into Alice Academy. She sat up straighter in her chair and paid close attention to the lesson, taking lots of notes on the complicated formulas they were already learning on the first day of school. With ten minutes left of class, Mikan reviewed her notes, and looked sideways to see Hyuuga sleeping in his seat.

With her respect for him gone, she flicked his Adam's apple brutally, irritated at his 'I-don't-give-a-shit' attitude. He woke up with a flinch while Mikan went back to her notes. She felt his intimidating eyes glaring at her but did not cower away from him.

"What the hell was that for?"

Mikan innocently looked up at his pissed off face. "What was what for?"

"You woke me up." He growled.

"Well you shouldn't be sleeping in the first place, Hyuuga. I was doing you a favor there." She countered evenly, copying down the problems Mr. Jinno was writing on the board. Mikan readied a clever comeback to say, but Hyuuga remained silent. She lifted her head up at him, only to see him looking at her with a strange face. "What- no clever comeback?"

"You called me by my last name." He pointed out to her.

"So...?"

"Hyuuga! Sakura! Detention this Friday for not paying attention in class." The math teacher barked, throwing a piece of chalk at the two of them.

While Hyuuga only grunted carelessly, Mikan protested.

"But I was paying attention! I even took notes!" She complained, holding up her notebook for him to see.

Mr. Jinno merely looked away as if he didn't see her and continued with their lesson. With a withering glower directed towards the boy who sat next to her, Mikan strode out of the classroom with alacrity when the lunch bell went off.

When she arrived at the beautifully decorated cafeteria, she was surprised to see a horde of students crowding around an enormous chart that engulfed most of the northern wall. Upon further inspection, Mikan realized that it was a placing chart, with her name occupying the 15th spot, and Hyuuga's name in the 8th. She spotted Hotaru and Sumire as 16 and 11. Mikan noticed that some names, including her own, had the word 'completed' under their names, and others had a bold X. She assumed that it was referring to Man Hunt, and whether or not the person completed the round or was Killed.

The noise in the cafeteria increased, as more and more students came in to see the chart. Deciding that it would not be wise for her to stick around it for too long, she walked away, and bumped into Koko. His aqua blue eyes lit up when he saw her.

"Hey, you're not going to slap me, are you?" He joked. Mikan smiled.

"Not if you are a bitch to me." She replied sweetly. Koko held his hand up.

"I swear upon my great-great-great grandma's grave to never be a bitch to you." He solemnly vowed.

Mikan nodded with mock approval.

"Oh, so transitioning awkwardly, something fell out of your pocket during 'the Incident.'" He raked a hand through his bleached out hair.

She scoured her mind, trying to remember if she had anything important in her pocket at the time, but came up with a blank.

"Can you give it to me tomorrow?" Mikan asked, seeing the table where Aoi and Nonoko sat, frantically waving at her.

"Yeah, sure."

Without further ado, Mikan headed over to the table.

"Did you guys see your placing already?" Mikan asked.

They nodded their heads simultaneously.

"Hotaru and Sumire are still at the chart, and Anna is finishing up the round of Man Hunt. Ah, yes, she finished."

'Completed' appeared underneath Anna's name, as she moved up from being 38 to 25. Anna walked into the cafeteria and sat down at the table with a plop. She had a victorious smile stretched on her face.

"When did Aoi complete her round?" Mikan inquired, noticing the girl's name and that the chart said she finished the round.

"Before school started today." Anna replied breathlessly.

"So now the only girl in our group who needs to finish is Nonoko." Mikan said, looking over at the timid female.

"Which reminds me, my victim is here." Nonoko got up from the table and scuffled behind a handsome upperclassman. They distantly heard her call, "e-excuse me!" The boy turned around with raised eyebrows.

"I-I've heard so much about you..." Nonoko fibbed, stuttering from nervousness. The boy only smirked arrogantly and shooed his friends away. "And... I was wondering if I can hug you!"

His smirk turned into a suspicious one. Mikan realized that the boy must be catching onto Nonoko's false infatuation, as did Nonoko.

"Of- of course you wouldn't want to... Never mind, it must be weird for a girl to ask a guy and-"

"No, sweet thang. I'll hug you." He interrupted suavely.

Anna giggled under her breath when the boy enveloped a wincing Nonoko into a bear hug. When they broke apart, Nonoko got up on her tip toes and whispered something in his ear, to which the teen looked down at his shirt with disbelief. The infamous yellow sticker glinted back up at him as he trudged away from her to his cackling friends.

Nonoko strolled back to their table, her face flushed from adrenaline, and their numbers were soon joined by Sumire and Hotaru.

"Congrats, Nonoko!" Anna exclaimed.

Nonoko beamed at the pink-haired girl, and picked up a menu laying at the middle of the table. In a clear voice, she read out the dish she wanted, and said plate of food appear in front of her. The others followed suit, and they were soon eating spectacular food while talking cheerfully to one another.

At the end of lunch, they walked back to their classroom- to Mikan's relief, Hyuuga decided to skip- and the rest of the day passed by with only a few more Killings occurring.

They all walked back to the dorm together, but halfway there, Mikan became aware of a strange girl tailing them from behind. While Anna and Nonoko remained jubilant and oblivious, the rest of them exchanged glances. The chances of the female being one of their Killers was highly probable, and wanting to not lose the round, they all sped their casual gait with a pair of confused girls in their midst.

But the stranger sped up too, and after sprinting around some corners, the whole group reached their dorm in time and slammed the door shut. They all shared harassed looks with one another and stayed silent when the sound of pattering footsteps passed by their door and faded.

Wanting to make sure that the stalker was gone, Mikan bravely crept up to the peephole at their door and looked out.

"She's gone." Mikan announced- the rest all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Holy crap... I hope that girl isn't after me." Sumire commented, taking her shoes off.

Mikan mutely agreed and wished she had Koko's mind reading alice.

As if on cue, a loud pounding noise was heard from their ceiling and a familiar voice could be heard from the floor above.

"Man, this place is _small_. What if I want to bring a chick here? No privacy at all..."

Sumire clenched her teeth together. "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

Then they all heard an insistent thumping racket while Mikan smiled to herself.

"Koko, stop jumping on the couch. You're going to annoy the group below us." An unrecognizable soprano voice reprimanded. The thumping noise stopped.

Aoi literally perked up at this voice and grinned madly.

"YOUI-" Sumire quickly covered Aoi's mouth with a hiss.

"_Don't_. Koko will know I'm down here and make even more of a ruckus."

"Does it look like I care?" Aoi retorted. She took another deep breath, but this time it was Mikan who stopped her.

"You want to go up there together? Koko needs to give me something, anyway." Mikan suggested, she crossed her fingers behind her back.

Aoi's glum face lightened up considerably.

The next thing Mikan knew, she was out of the door, in the hallway, and in front of the dorm room in a second. Aoi opened the door without preamble.

"Youichi!" She exclaimed happily, skipping towards him. Youichi's frown tilted upwards with surprise and happiness.

Mikan, now feeling like an intruder upon seeing their intimate hug, scuffled into the room awkwardly. She froze when she scanned the room's inhabitants and her eyes landed on Hyuuga.

Quickly avoiding his gaze, she looked at the quiet boy sitting on the couch at the far end of the room.

"Hey, I'm Mikan." She said friendly, when in reality, she was critically analyzing him to see if he was a threat to her or not.

The teen looked taken aback by Mikan's introduction and blushed slightly. "Hi, I'm Tobita Yuu." He averted his eyes to the ground.

Mikan cocked her head to the side and looked to her right at Koko.

"You're quite loud, you know. We could hear your voice from downstairs."

Koko beamed widely, as if he was proud of his loud voice. He buffed his nails on his shoulder lightheartedly to their laughter.

"So who's with you downstairs?" Ruka asked curiously.

"Anna, Nonoko, Hotaru, and Sumire."

At Sumire's name, Koko's happy smile turned into a devious one.

"Oh really?" He rubbed his hands together evilly, and began singing 'Girlfriend' by Avril Lavigne in a horrible falsetto voice.

A shrill curse and groan sounded from the room below.

"Stop it, Koko! You are such a d-bag!"

Koko chuckled to himself and stopped, much to Mikan's relief.

"What do you want?" Hyuuga curtly asked, still staring at Mikan with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, right. Koko-"

He waved off the rest of Mikan's sentence and walked into his room. Mikan noted to herself that it was the 2nd door on the right, formulating a plan to obtain an alice stone of the mind reader's ability. He came out of the room, striding towards her and dropped a heavy little trinket into her outstretched hand. The moment it touched her hand, she realized what it was, and clenched her fingers tightly around it.

"Thanks. Anyway... I'll get going now." Mikan quickly exited the room with a stoic face. She looked down at the trinket- which was actually a locket- and opened it. A sad melody was whispered from it, as she stared at the picture of a man and woman inside it.

With a resounding snap, she closed the locket and slowly walked back to her dorm. When she opened the door, she spotted Aoi at the end of the hallway, and patiently waited for the latter.

Inside, the two of them headed for the kitchen, where a delicious aroma greeted their nose.

"It smells delicious, Anna!" Aoi said gratefully, as Anna ladled a bowlful of beef stew for the two of them. She garnished it with a huge hunk of bread.

After their very filling dinner, Mikan offered to do the dishes, while the rest of them hung out in the warm den.

While washing the dishes, Mikan decided to go to Koko's room at midnight to steal part of his alice, since there are two more days of the first round to go. To assuage her guilt of doing this without Koko's permission, she told herself that she was going to make an alice stone out of his ability anyway, and that she was just doing this ahead of time. And even if she did tell him about her alices, he'll probably become so terrified of her that he'll start avoiding Mikan.

She nodded resolutely, and after she finished with washing, she took a shower and joined the others in the den.

At ten o'clock, everybody retired to their rooms; going through their nightly routines and getting some much needed sleep. And at 12 o'clock, when Mikan was sure Hotaru was asleep, she snuck out of the dorm in her pajamas, and went upstairs.

Getting out her bobby pin she opened the door silently, slipping inside with a small click from the closing door. However, Mikan stilled abruptly, attempting to recall if his room was the second on the right or left. She went with the left, certain that it was on that side, and opened the door. Once again, she flitted inside, the scent of sandalwood and autumn assaulting her senses. Remembering to close the door in case Koko woke up, she tiptoed to his bed.

The room had one window, but fortunately it was not facing in the direction of the moonlight, so the room was mainly shrouded in darkness. Taking deep breaths, she lifted a slender hand to the sleeping figure on the bed, and imperceptibly touched the tips of her fingers to his warm cheek.

"What are you doing?" The dark figure demanded, sitting up straight. He roughly grabbed Mikan's wrist when she came to the horrible realization that this was not Koko.

Lucky for Mikan, it was Hyuuga.

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**A/N:** Sorry for the grammatical errors and reviews are like walking into Natsume's bedroom! :)


	10. Man Hunt Part 3

_Man Hunt Part 3_

_"What are you doing?" The dark figure demanded, sitting up straight. He roughly grabbed Mikan's wrist when she came to the horrible realization that this was not Koko._

_ Lucky for Mikan, it was Hyuuga._

"Uh..." This wasn't the first time Mikan has royally messed up, but she couldn't help but think how much she 'screwed the pooch' on this one.

Fortunately for her, crimson eyes glinted through the darkness with curiosity, rather than anger. He propped himself up on his elbows and turned out the light- his forest green comforter pooling at his waist.

All thinking ceased in Sakura Mikan's brain as her hormones went insane.

"I, uh..." She fished in her mind for an excuse, gaping moronically at his half-naked body. She admired his defined chest and ardently thanked the inventor of soccer, because his abs were... _fan-fucking-tastic._ Mikan, in all sixteen years of her life, had only caught one glimpse of a six pack before, and that was because her classmate was wiping off his sweaty face with the hem of his shirt. But nothing compared to Hyuuga's. She was tempted to reach out a finger and trace the outlines of it, but a cough startled Mikan out of her spellbound trance. Patches of scarlet red colored her cheeks after she quickly shook her head to clear it. She took a peek at his expression and was irritated to see him smirking slightly. Arrogant jerk. Mikan trailed back to what she was saying before a brilliant thought struck her. "I was trying... to get a picture of you." She muttered with faux embarrassment, plucking at the edge of her navy blue tank top.

Hyuuga was silent for a second, loosening his hold on Mikan. She slid her wrist out of his callused hand, wondering why she suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of loneliness; why her wrist felt freezing when the room was perfectly warm; and why she felt like wrapping her arms around the boy in front of her and landing a big fat...

"Hey, Natsume!" Someone's voice called. It was accompanied by several panicked pounds on the door and the impatient rattling of the door knob.

Mikan was frozen with fear. Her, otherwise, brilliant brain failed to function once again as she stared at Hyuuga with wide gray eyes. Her hand instinctively raked through her hair while she nervously bit her lip; a habit of Mikan's that makes itself known whenever she was about to get in trouble.

Sensing her anxiety, Hyuuga smiled devilishly at her- eliciting a horrified look from her, before pushing Mikan's petite frame out of his way. She landed on the plush bed with a disgruntled 'oof!', and then sat up with indignation. He strode over to the door in two paces, flinging it open to reveal a very harassed best friend.

"Are you okay, man? I heard noises... did you have another att-" Whatever Ruka was going to say, Mikan didn't know, for he was cut off by Hyuuga's warning glare. Having grown used to said expression, the blonde merely cocked an eyebrow quizzically at the serious teen. In response, something in Hyuuga's eyes must have tipped off Ruka because the next thing Mikan knew, a pair of periwinkle eyes were staring at her in shock. He began to stutter while pointing at his childhood friend's bed, the beautiful girl sitting on it, and the man himself. His eyes expanded to the size of pucks at Hyuuga's lack of clothing, while Mikan's mind snapped to attention, cottoning onto what Hyuuga's plan was.

He was trying to embarrass her. Great.

She lifted her chin up defiantly, determined to not satisfy his wish while relaying to the smirking teen that two could play at this game. "Natsumeeee" she whined saccharinely, twirling a strand of coffee-colored hair. Mikan winced inside, wondering how anyone could speak like this on an everyday basis. "I thought we were going to have more fun tonight." She finished with a flutter of her eyelashes. She nearly burst out guffawing at the scandalized expression Ruka was sporting on his face. Despite this, Hyuuga remained unmoved, besides an amused glint coloring his deep crimson eyes.

"I- I'm so-sorry. I'm... ah... yeah... carry on- NO- err... I m-mean-" Ruka choked out, his cheeks becoming more flushed with every syllable as he stumbled outside, before Hyuuga swung the door shut wordlessly. He leaned his broad back against the door frame after the sound of staggering footsteps could be heard no more, with a calculating face that Mikan knew all too well.

She made to get off the bed, and thereby escape his inquisitive gaze; however, her body unconsciously sprung back and tensed. An iota of a second passed, during which her brain fully processed why she did that, when a ball of undulating flames appeared inches from where her face was previously. It took a lot of willpower for the auburn beauty to not retaliate with her Alice, seething silently at his impudence. She rapidly rearranged her features to mask her expression of incense; putting on the airs of a frightened mouse facing a deadly snake.

She snorted inwardly- she couldn't be any farther from that.

Hyuuga stepped up to the bed and extinguished the fire. Much to Mikan's dismay, he continued his journey; stepping onto the bed and backing her up against the wall, where he caged her in by placing both hands on either side of her 'intimidated' face. He leaned in close. So close that Mikan could feel his breath caressing her face, pondering upon why her hands felt clammy and why her eyes were glued to the faint outline of his soft lips. Mikan roughly forced herself out of her daydream, frustrated with her damned hormones.

"What?" She snapped, forgetting to act like a cornered mouse.

She felt his lips turn up in what she imagined to be a smirk, and a sense of dread overcame her when the sound of a camera registered in her mind.

"No more pretending, are we?" He asked with a lace of malice. He then proceeded to look at the picture he just took. "Stripes? Still in middle school, I see." He mused out loud, directing his trademark smirk to his Blackberry.

She merely frowned, slightly puzzled by what he meant by 'stripes.' He answered her unvoiced inquiry by showing the photo. This time it was the latter's turn to stutter and turn several shades redder.

The photo, distorting Mikan's pissed off face into an aroused one courtesy of the dim light, caught part of her bra peeking out from behind her tank top.

With a look of fury, she furiously swiped at the god forsaken phone, growing increasingly irritated as he continued to dodge her with uncanny ease. She wanted to break that phone, and punch that stupid expression off his face and then throttle him with relish. And maybe after all that, slap him around some more just for kicks.

However, her body froze suddenly as the alarm bells in her mind rang shrilly. Hyuuga also paused, attempting to decipher the reason why she was standing rigidly with her fists clenched. He narrowed his eyes and identified the problem before Mikan arrived to the same conclusion, looking at each other with grim expressions. There was an intruder somewhere in the building. She closed her eyes to pinpoint the trespasser, deducing that he was downstairs... _in her dorm_. The two of them flew out the room simultaneously, Hyuuga swiftly throwing on a shiry, paying no heed to the wolf whistles his roommates were throwing at the pair. But Koko, already holding the front door open for them, took off down the hall with Mikan and Hyuuga, reporting to the former that the culprit was attempting to gain access to Mikan's dorm by using her alice. A picture of the girl who followed Mikan and her companions earlier flashed in her mind. Gritting her teeth, she accelerated her pace, praying to whatever deity out there for her friends' safety.

* * *

The three of them inaudibly edged towards the dorm door until Koko toed it open cautiously, motioning for them to follow his lead. Mikan temporarily halted, agilely swooping down and grabbing her strapped dagger from under her sweatpants in one fluid motion. Hyuuga sighed quietly in annoyance before following Koko into the dark depths of the room. Mikan stuck her tongue out at the back of his head. Jerk.

Stealthily padding along the edges of the hallway under the cloak of darkness, the mind-reader stopped in front of the room across from Mikan's, which she recognized as Sumire's and Aoi's room. A flash of panic appeared on Koko's face as he listened intently to the imposter's thoughts. Without warning, he burst into the room and tackled a hunched silhouette to the ground with a yell before Mikan and Hyuuga entered- the former checked on Sumire, while the latter strode over to his baby sister.

Mikan checked Sumire's breathing, before performing a cursory check of the girl's body for any wounds and stickers. After she was satisfied with the results, Mikan pondered upon why a cold sensation was still nagging her in the back of her mind; something was off. But what? Her gray eyes widened as she spun around with alacrity and dread. She realized what her two biggest mistakes were- neglecting to detect the intruder's alice and not questioning the whereabouts of everyone. After Koko's yell, surely Hotaru would've arrived by now. In fact, how did this intruder enter their dorm without anyone realizing it? There were five Alices here, for crying out loud.

She cursed loudly, expanding her nullification barrier to cover Koko and Hyuuga, but it was too late for the mind-reader. The trespasser effortlessly tossed his limp body to the wall, a resounding thud echoing through Mikan's skull. She glimpsed at Hyuuga's hunched body from her peripherals, the strident noise of his coughing causing her to inch towards him. With a wary eye on the black figure, she berated herself. If only she had remembered to confirm what Alice this girl owned earlier, this would have never happened. She scowled at her situation, not liking the number of disadvantages which counted against her.

Activating her Alice Recognition stone, Mikan's pupils dilated and she got a faraway look on her face. Hyuuga looked at her, sensing a strange aura radiating off of her slender body, before it all disappeared. Another coughing bout rendered him speechless, but he heard her announce loudly that the intruder possessed the Alice of ice. His crimson eyes flitted towards Aoi's prone body, comprehension dawning on his expression; it would account for his little sister's low temperature and why she was in a comatose state.

A predatory look crept onto Mikan's face as soon as she discovered the other girl's Alice. Here she was, expecting the worse, but this girl was nothing compared to some of the Alices back home. This was going to be fun.

Still hiding in the shadows of the room, the trespasser sprinted for the ajar door but Mikan hurled her dagger at the doorknob; hitting it squarely in the keyhole. "Where do you think you're going?" She asked languidly, walking calmly to the trembling other. Sensing an attack coming, Mikan nullified it, turning on the light nonchalantly. They were now within three feet apart; Hyuuga observing Mikan from the background. The fact that he noticed Nobara activating her Alice, and was surprised to see nothing happen, alarmed Hyuuga. He hoped that Mikan would use her Alice again, but the chances of him seeing it were slim. The things he garnered from Sakura's character were that she was incredibly deceptive and guarded; the two most irksome traits to ever have. But for some unknown reason, he still wanted to know why. Hyuuga decided that maybe he didn't hate her as much anymore, and plus, he had something to whittle away his time with. To say that his intrigue was awakened by the enigmatic girl was an understatement.

When the room flooded with light, Mikan realized that the girl was not, in fact, the one who tracked them. The tracker had chin-length hair that was straight, whereas the female who quavered in front of her had long, curly green hair the color of pale jade. Mikan, correctly interpreting the intruder's darting eyes, twisted the girl into a complex arm hold before the latter could make another break for it.

"Ibaragi Nobara." Hyuuga muttered under his breath.

"Who?"

"The Ice Princess."

Mikan stared blankly at him. "As in the chick from that American movie?"

He gazed at her coolly. "You're an idiot."

She scowled deeply. "At least I'm not an insufferable one."

"Whatever you say, Stripes." He said with a smirk, which made her blood boil.

"What did you just call me?"

"Um..." A timid voice hesitated. The pair averted their glaring match to the speaker.

"_What_?" They snapped in chorus. Gray eyes seethed with anger, while a sigh erupted from Hyuuga as he looked away with an indiscernible expression.

"Well, I-I was sent here by the new Dangerous Abi- ah-"

Hyuuga's expression darkened, remembering the days when he had to tolerate Persona's unmerciful requests. His throat constricted and his hands curled into fists; his knuckles became white.

"I mean Special Class teacher... with a mission." She finished quietly, quailing under his furious eyes.

"Tell me your mission." Mikan commanded sharply, already wary of her Special class's teacher.

"T-to test H-Hyuuga Aoi and Sakura Mikan and see if they're um... s-suited for the Dan- I mean Special class." Her voice grew small towards the end of her statement and her quivering still had not ceased.

A feeling of pity overcame Mikan, causing her to release Ibaragi from her grip. "Leave. Go. And tell the teacher that he better be damn well prepared for the two of us." Fury radiated from the core of Mikan's body. How dare he send someone over to attack a sleeping, unsuspecting student? This cowardly, underhanded technique was so dishonorable and infuriating that Mikan didn't bother to conceal the venom in her voice when she spoke. The Ice Princess nodded mutely before scurrying out of the dorm with a small apology. And just like that, the whole vicinity surrounding the room Hyuuga and Mikan were in warmed back up. Hyuuga lightly touched his little sister's forehead, secretly relieved that her body temperature was going back to normal.

Mikan slumped to the floor; allowing the copious amounts of adrenaline to leave her and the effects of being in fight-or-flight mode to slam into her body. She withdrew her nullification barrier back into her body, not realizing that Hyuuga looked at her strangely the moment she did so, tired from the strenuous pressure of maintaining and expanding her nullification. She never received true training for her Alices since she came from a small city- the teachers merely had her train on her own. Without another thought, her hazy gray eyes rolled to the back of her skull as she passed out on the carpeted floor; the image of Hyuuga's approaching body being the last thing she saw before darkness engulfed her.

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**A/N:** Please tell me if you find any errors in my story, I will be coming back and editing it anyway... this is a shorter chapter than the others, I know, and I apologize, but I've been kinda really busy with school. Oh and please read my new story _Rediscovering You_! I promise you won't regret it. :)

Reviews are as fan-fucking-tastic as a half-naked Natsume.


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